Morgner, C. orcid.org/0000-0003-2891-0113 and Patel, H. (2021) Understanding ethnicity and residential fires from the perspective of cultural values and practices: a case study of Leicester, United Kingdom. Fire Safety Journal, 125. 103384. ISSN 0379-7112
Abstract
The Grenfell Tower and Lakanal House fires in London in 2017 and 2009 highlighted how these devasting events mainly affected people from ethnic minorities. While many studies have explored the role of socio-demographic variables in residential fires, ethnicity or race have received only marginal research attention. To redress this imbalance, this paper specifically addresses rate and severity of residential fires in relation to ethnicity. To that end, the study conceptualises ethnicity in a novel way—not as an individual variable but from a community perspective, focusing on cultural norms and practices and how these relate to residential fire incidents. As well as data from the Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service and the National Census, the study draws on data collected in a representative survey of community structure and risk behaviour in Leicestershire. The findings reveal that trust and personal relationships are fundamental to information sharing within this community. This highly personal form of knowledge acquisition is not matched by the fire and rescue service's more anonymous information-driven approach. The findings highlight the need for a more person-centred approach to fire safety to ensure that interventions in more vulnerable neighbourhoods and communities can contribute more effectively to fire safety and reductions in the rate and severity of fires.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Fire Safety Journal. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
Keywords: | Regression analysis; Community survey; Ethnicity; Cultural risks; Fire prevention; Trust |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Management School (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 09 Dec 2022 10:19 |
Last Modified: | 09 Dec 2022 11:50 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier BV |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.firesaf.2021.103384 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:194252 |
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