§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children under the age of five years have been involved in fires due to bedding material in each year since 1980; and what proportion of the children died as a result of the fires.
§ Mr. John PattenThe readily available information is shown in the table.
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Children aged under 5 injured in accidental dwelling fires attended by local authority fire brigades, where the material first ignited was bedding1 1981–89 (United Kingdom) Year Number of casualties Percentage of casualties leading to death Fatal Non-fatal Total 1981 6 45 51 12 1982 9 55 64 14 1983 5 67 72 7 1984 5 90 95 5 1985 10 77 87 11 1986 14 86 100 14 1987 16 86 102 16 1988 10 73 83 12 1989 12 97 109 11 1 Bedding is defined as all bedding on the bed including mattress covers, but not beds or mattresses or cases where the electrical insulation of an electric blanket first ignited. Source: Home Office Fire Statistics.