Live burn demo to kick-off new study
Sunnybrook is launching a new study on
the consequences and healthcare costs of house fires with an up close look at
the extreme damage a house fire can cause.
A burn demo will be conducted in a controlled environment at
the Toronto Fire Service Special Operations Centre on Bermondsey Road to
graphically show the result of having an automated sprinkler installed in a
home when a fire breaks out versus not having one.
"We know that every year fire kills 400 people in Canada,
and the majority of these deaths occur in the home," says Joanne Banfield, lead
researcher for the study and Manager of Trauma Injury Prevention at Sunnybrook. "The purpose of our study is to find out
the costs of burn care to the healthcare system and whether automated
sprinklers in residential homes have an impact on the health, safety and
economic outcomes of house fires in Canada."
Over the next three years, researchers will be looking at current
literature and up-to-date statistics regarding fires and their associated costs
to homeowners, insurance companies, fire services and society as a whole. The
research will focus on Canada, but also extend to other parts of the world in
order to find best practices.
The study is sponsored by The Co-operators, Canadian
Automatic Sprinkler Association (CASA), Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC),
The Fire Marshals Public Fire Safety Council, (FMPFSC) and the Ontario Municipal
Fire Prevention Officers Association (OMFPOA).