B. Leveque et al., CHILDHOOD HOUSE FIRES MORTALITY, MORBIDIT Y AND PREVENTION IN FRANCE, Bulletin de l'Academie nationale de medecine, 177(7), 1993, pp. 1233-1242
Children injuries by house fires in France are the cause of a severe m
ortality (sixty deaths in average each year) and of a morbidity for th
e survival due to smoke toxicity (oxygen deprivation and inhalation of
toxic gases - CO and HCN) and to thermal burns. Epidemiological studi
es show that young children (0 to 4) are specially concerned by this t
hreat and that the deaths occurred more often in some part of France (
Nord-Pas-de-Calais Region). A special strategy for this prevention sho
uld be applied in France, the same avalaible in USA, Sweden and UK, in
cluding information on the behavior one should have with children : ne
ver leave them alone and escape with them as soon as possible out of t
he smoke. The usefulness of smoke detectors should be confirmed by Fre
nch administration and recommanded to the public, since they have had
effectives results in other countries.