Fire-related deaths rise in Estonia due to alcohol and indoor smoking
The alarmingly high number of deaths in the first two months of the year in Estonia due to fires can generally be attributed to indoor smoking and alcohol, said Janika Usin, head of the prevention department at the Rescue Board, in Vikerraadio's morning show.
The general profile of those who lose their lives as a result of house fires, however, has not changed, Usin explained. According to Usin, there is a clear pattern. Victims are often older individuals, alcohol may be involved, many victims have disabilities, and homes either lack smoke detectors or one has been removed specifically to enable indoor smoking.
Often, these are also individuals living alone. "There's no longer a gender difference. It used to be more common among men, but not this year," Usin added.
He also pointed to the careless use of open flames in the home, most often candles, as another major cause of fires leading to fatalities.
"When compared to the last few years, there have been twice as many fires [this year]. February was particularly grim, with two fires resulting in multiple deaths," said Usin. However, the issue, upon examination of the cases, was not due to this February's weather being cold.
"These are people who don't know and don't care, prevention work has not had an effect. People refuse the help offered, and we can't change people's behavior against their will," Usin stated. "The government also helps with repairing heating systems and electrical systems, but if the person themselves doesn't want it, then there's nothing to be done."
"Smoke detectors interfere with indoor smoking. Often, even if there is a detector, it's not functional," Usin added. "Smoking indoors is not normal."
In the first two months of this year, 18 people have died in fires, half of which were caused due to careless smoking. In nearly all cases, a smoke detector, which could have interfered with indoor smoking had been removed from the room.
In the first two months of 2024 alone, six people have died in fires in Estonia. There were 35 fire-related fatalities throughout the whole of 2023.
Over the last decade, the highest number of fire-related fatalities during the first three months of a year was in 2014, when 20 people lost their lives due to fires.
Six people lost their lives in Estonia during the first two months of last year. There were 35 such incidents throughout 2023 as a whole.
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Editor: Michael Cole
Source: Vikerraadio
