Smoke inhalation: the effects of fire
What are the effects of smoke inhalation?
If you are unfortunate enough to be caught in a fire emergency, it can be a scary experience to say the least. Aside from the possibility of fatalities, there are also many other risks in the situation, such as smoke inhalation.
These could include damage to the property or its contents, a workforce that feels unsafe or resigns or long-lasting health complications. One way that health complications can develop is through smoke inhalation, which has the potential to be fatal.
The effects of smoke inhalation can present straight away as well as developing into other underlying conditions.
What symptoms can smoke inhalation cause?
The severity of your symptoms will depend on how long you have been exposed to the fire. The most common symptoms included: coughing, chest pain, headaches, eye irritation and soot in your nostrils and throat.
If you experience any of these symptoms there are a number of treatments available*. These include:
- Pain relief – this can be over the counter medication or prescribed depending on the severity of symptoms.
- Antibiotics – these will be prescribed by your doctor if they feel you have an infection or may develop one.
- Bronchodilators – these help ease your breathing by opening up your airways, they are often prescribed If you had pre-existing respiratory issues.
- Antidotes – you could be given an antidote to manage the effects of smoke inhalation but these are only effective in certain situations.
Where is smoke inhalation most likely to occur?
As most people spend a lot of their lives at home, It may not come as a surprise that in the UK, more than 80% of fatalities related to fire occurred in home. With over 40,000 fires in 2014/2015, 88% of these were classified as ‘accidental’. However a large proportion of these fires did occur in the workplace.
The stats continue to become increasingly worrying… in 31% of homes in which fires broke out and smoke inhalation occurred, there was no smoke alarm at all! A further 19% of homes had a smoke alarm that didn’t work. This means 50% of these fires did not have a working smoke alarm. Hopefully this highlights how easy it would be to inhale smoke if a fire was started in any property.
How many deaths does smoke inhalation cause?
While roaring flames and dramatic scenes of fire fighters at the top of a 15-storey building may spring to mind when we think about fire, the flames themselves are not the leading cause of death. More than 40% of fire-related deaths are caused by inhaling gas, smoke and other fumes.
We hope these stats highlight the true value of having a working and regularly maintained smoke alarm. Not only could they prevent life-changing injuries from the flames themselves but they could also prevent the leading cause of fire-related deaths, smoke inhalation.
The risks of smoke inhalation do not outweigh the effort needed to purchase and maintain a smoke alarm. It is crucial to keep yourself, your family and your workforce safe and healthy.
At Artius Fire Protection, we provide fire risk assessments, fire safety training and more to ensure your business is protected.