Falkirk over-60’s are urged to seek fire safety help

Meanwhile almost one in three of all fire casualties were aged 60 or over.

Between 2015 and 2019, 218 victims died due to often preventable fires in Scotland – 149 of whom were aged 50 or over.

The statistics come at the same time as the launch of a national older people month of action by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), and with it the offer of potentially life saving fire safety visits to people’s homes.

Assistant Chief Officer Ross Haggart, who is the SFRS Director of Prevention and Protection, said: “It’s easy to think that fire won’t happen to you, but statistically there is potentially a house fire in Scotland every two hours.

“It is clear to see that people who are around the age of 60 or over are most affected by serious house fires.

“As a service, we believe any fatality because of fire is one too many and our thoughts remain with every single person affected by such tragedy.

“While we will continue our prevention efforts across Scotland I think we all need to ask ourselves - is there more I could do?

“The time to take action is now.”

He added: “We have dedicated personnel across Scotland – operational firefighters, community firefighters and community safety advocates – ready to offer potentially lifesaving Home Fire Safety Visits.

“If you are 60 or over please contact us now.

“If you have a friend, relative or neighbour in this age group, talk to them about our free Home Fire Safety Visit service.

“You can even offer to contact us on their behalf.

“We want to reach every older person in Scotland - but we can’t do that without your help.

“Together we can prevent fires happening and protect older people across Scotland.”