W Uusimaa sees high fire casualties in 2017

An exceptionally high number of people died in fire last year, said the rescue department of West Uusimaa on Monday.

Cigarette smoking was a common cause of the fires, reported the local media outlet MTV news.

According to the rescue department, 10 people died in 2017 in fire incidents in the region and five others suffered serious injuries. The figure of casualties is high since the annual average number of deaths in fire is five.

In most cases, the fire outbreaks were triggered by cigarettes, while the majority of the victims were aged more than 65.

Most of the houses where the victims lived did not have fire alarms, even though the law makes it compulsory to have fire alarms in all residential buildings, said Tuomas Pälviä, head of risk management at the rescue department.