So far in December, seven people have died in fires in Norway. After fire fatalities in Oppland on the second day of Christmas, there have been a total of 40 people who died as a consequence of fire during 2016, according to the Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning (DSB).
Many people lose their lives during the winter months, but if the statistics remain the same, this is the second lowest number of fire deaths since 1979.
The lowest number of deaths was in 2015, when only 35 people were killed. On average, 64 people have died each year since the DSB began keeping statistics.
Among the 40 who have died this year, 30 were over 50 years old. According to the DSB, statistics for last year show that the cooker and hob mostly caused the fires to start, and usually the fatalities were in private homes.
It is especially the elderly and infirm, people with disabilities or drug addicts who are most at risk. Three out of four dead belonged to these groups, the figures show. Most fatal fires were at night, especially on weekends.
‘Experience shows that it is an early warning system, using smoke detectors, which saves the most lives’, said director, Cecilie Daae, of DSB.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
