Alcohol or drugs contributed to 835 house fires in Scotland last year, according to statistics.
Fire services across the country are urging people to be aware of the increased risks when drinking: 11 people died and 248 were injured in such incidents last year.
The Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) said even a few glasses of wine or beer can dramatically increase the risks of an accidental fire. It is encouraging homeowners to take extra care in light of the approaching bank holiday weekends and summer months.
CFOA chairman David Dalziel said: "Regretfully, alcohol consumption still plays a major part in influencing people's behaviours and their ability to respond. The reality is that being under the influence of alcohol can affect your ability to escape should a fire occur, even with moderate consumption.
"All too often our crews are faced with the horrific effects of fires where alcohol has been a contributory factor. We urge people not to put themselves or others at risk by smoking or cooking at home when they've had a drink."
The Fire Statistics Scotland 2010-11 report shows 835 fires had drug or alcohol impairment as a contributory factor. Strathclyde accounted for almost half of the incidents with 411 fires.
The CFOA said the most common causes of fire where alcohol is involved are cigarettes, lighters, matches and cooking.
Of the 6,336 house fires in Scotland last year, 40 people lost their lives and around 1,100 people were injured. Almost half of the properties involved did not have a working smoke alarm.
Mr Dalziel said: "It's important to have working smoke alarms fitted and know what the escape plan for the property is. Your local fire and rescue service provide free home fire safety advice. Please ask for it."
The CFOA issued a checklist for people to follow which includes getting smoke alarms tested, making sure all cigarettes are properly stubbed out and avoiding cooking when under the influence of alcohol.
Homeowners can also request a free 20-minute home fire safety visit from local officers who will check the property for hazards and fit a smoke alarm for free if required.
People can text FIRE to 61611 to request a visit or log on to dontgivefireahome.org for advice.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article