Research has highlighted that older people, that is, those aged 60 and over, are over‐represented in fatal fire statistics across the globe. The aim of this study was to investigate the circumstances surrounding fatal fires involving older people and examine the role of individuals and agencies that are in contact with the most vulnerable and how they can be involved in reducing fire risk. The study was conducted in two phases. Firstly, a retrospective analysis was conducted of the circumstances surrounding 99 accidental fatal dwelling fires involving 100 older people during a 20‐year period. Results suggested that most fires ignited in the living room or the bedroom and these were also the most common locations of the fatalities. The most common causes of the fire were smoking materials, hot coals, cooking and electrical faults and the majority of older fire fatalities had a smoke alarm which operated. Importantly, there was evidence of regular contact between the fatality and at least one other individual from the community prior to the fire. For this reason, the second phase of the research involved focus groups with friends, relatives, neighbours and carers of older people with a view to understanding their attitudes and experiences with regard to fire safety. Overall, the focus groups provided evidence that those in contact with older people regularly observe fire risks in the homes of older people. In addition, gaps were evident in the fire safety knowledge, not only of older people, but also for those assisting older people. In light of the findings, this article also considers the core messages that should be included in any potential future fire safety intervention strategies aimed at the older adult.

中文翻译：

---

老年人：与之相关的火灾隐患和当前对制定未来消防安全干预策略的挑战

研究表明，在全球致命火灾统计中，老年人（即60岁及60岁以上）的人数过多。这项研究的目的是调查涉及老年人的致命火灾周围的环境，并研究与最脆弱人群接触的个人和机构的作用，以及他们如何参与降低火灾风险。该研究分两个阶段进行。首先，对20年内涉及100名老年人的99起意外致命住宅火灾进行了回顾性分析。结果表明，大多数火灾是在客厅或卧室内点燃的，也是最常见的死亡地点。引起火灾的最常见原因是吸烟材料，热煤，烹饪和电气故障以及大多数较年长的火灾死亡人员都装有烟雾报警器，该报警器可以正常工作。重要的是，有证据表明，火灾发生前，死亡人数与至少一名社区其他人之间有定期接触。因此，研究的第二阶段涉及与老年人的朋友，亲戚，邻居和看护者进行座谈小组，以了解他们在消防安全方面的态度和经验。总体而言，焦点小组提供的证据表明，与老年人接触的人们经常观察到老年人家中的火灾隐患。另外，不仅在老年人，而且在帮助老年人的消防安全知识上也存在明显的差距。根据调查结果，