According to a study presented at the University of Navarra, men over 85 years of age who live in small towns and low-income communities are the group most affected by fires.

The researcher of the School of Architecture María Fernández-Vigil presented the results and compared them with those of programs of study developed in other environments. The presentation took place during a workshop which reflected on fires and their relationship with people over 65 years of age, with the aim of educating in the culture of self-protection and prevention.

According to Fernández-Vigil, "the accelerated inversion of the population pyramid, where 30% of the population is expected to be over 65 years old by 2050, added to the fact that from that age the risk of suffering a fire is double, from 80, triple, and from 90, multiplied by four, means that we are talking about a serious and real problem".

In order to carry out the work different variables have been studied, such as: detecting the place with the highest risk of fires, the most dangerous time of day or the causes of fires. All this, "with the intention of developing a prevention and awareness plan that involves all the agents and that includes actions designed for this group, which are the over 65".

Fire Prevention Week

In the workshop also participated the technician of the Civil Protection service of the Government of Navarra and teacher of the School Amaya Osácar. "This workshop is part of the third edition of Fire Prevention Week, which has focused on people over 65 years, and has been composed of talks of approach to the various agents related to this group."

Likewise, the occupational therapist of the Navarre Agency for the Autonomy of People Ainhoa Trébol explained the characteristics of this group and pointed out some risk prevention measures, such as alarm systems or home automation.

For his part,Juan Bautista Echeverría, professor at School of Architecture , called on architecture students to think about the design of buildings with this group in mind: "This is a challenge and an opportunity, including an economic one, which affects the current performance of buildings, new services, urban planning and the real estate market".  

The workshop has also counted with the presence of the Fire Officer Francisco Echeverría. The Fire Prevention Week is organized by the General Administration of Interior and the Navarra Agency of Autonomy and development of the people, and is an initiative promoted by the Mapfre Foundation and the association Professional Firefighter Technicians. In addition, on this occasion, it has counted with the partnership of the Public University of Navarra, the University of Navarra and the Casa de la Misericordia of Pamplona.