§ Sir David Priceasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are known to his Department to have died in fires for each of the last 10 years; how many in each year died in buildings open to the public, such as discotheques, shops and hotels; and in how many cases the burning of polyurethane was a contributory factor to the cause of death.
§ Mr. MayhewThe numbers of deaths from fires attended by local authority brigades starting in various types of premises are published annually in"Fire Statistics, United Kingdom"—table 23 in the volume for 1979. The total numbers of such deaths in the years 1969–79 are given in table.5 of the volume for 1979. Copies of volumes for 1979 and earlier years are in the Library of the House. Information is not available on the number of deaths in which the burning of polyurethane was a contributory factor to the cause of death; the only available information is given in the following table. Information for 1980 is not yet available.
119W
Deaths from fires attended by local authority fire brigades in which burning of plastics was reported as mainly responsible for the development of the fire—United Kingdom Number of deaths Year From fires starting in domestic dwellings From fires starting in other locations 1978✶ 53 3 1979† 103 11 ✶ Some deaths are not included as some fires in the first two months of the year were not reported in detail because of fire service strike. † The higher figures in 1979 may be partly due to the colder winter; see"Fire Statistics, United Kingdom 1979" page 7.
§ Sir David Priceasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what studies he has initiated into the fire hazards of polyurethane as a furnishing material, whether used in private homes or in public buildings, and the risk of burning polyurethane emitting hydrogen cyanide fumes; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MayhewThe fire risks posed by certain new materials, including polyurethane, were the subject of a report by a technical sub-committee of the joint fire prevention committee of the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Councils for England and Wales and for Scotland, which was published in November 1978. My right hon. Friend has arranged for a copy of the report to be placed in the library of each House. More recently, research has been commissioned by our Department as a basis for determining the criteria which should govern regulations which my right hon. Friend proposes to make under sectiion 12 of the Fire Precautions Act 1971 to control the display in shops and department stores of polyurethane foam-filled furniture. As regards the use of polyurethane as a furnishing material, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 25 February 1981 to a question from the hon. Member for Poole (Mr. Ward).—[Vol. 999, c. 363.]