The effects of the Fire Safety at Home programme on four fire safety behaviours among older adults

Older adults face an increased risk of injury or fatality in domestic home fires, emphasizing the need to focus on promoting fire safety behaviours within this demographic group. Therefore, the Fire Safety at Home programme was developed. In the effect evaluation, 433 participants (>65 years) participated. Participants in the intervention group received a systematically developed fire safety programme, while the control group received a fire safety programme as is given by the Dutch fire service. Outcome measures assessed four fire safety behaviours (i.e., staying in the kitchen while cooking, not connecting power strips to each other, charging electronic devices, and cleaning the dryer lint filter after every cycle) and key behavioural determinants (attitude, self-efficacy, and risk perception). A measure of behavioural intention was added as a proxy indicator of future fire safety behaviours. Where improvements over time were found for all behaviours in both groups (control- and intervention- group), compared to the control group, the new intervention yielded significant improvement in three out of the four fire safety behaviours. Additionally, the intervention positively influenced the social cognitive determinants attitude and risk perception. Based on this study, it can be concluded that effectively instigating changes in fire safety behaviour among older adults can be achieved by specifically and intensively targeting these specific behaviours and their determinants in an intervention.