背景:烧伤是一个重大的公共卫生问题,与住房条件和社会经济地位密切相关。社会经济贫困社区的居民由于住房条件较老和较差以及获得防火措施的机会有限,遭受危险的风险增加。个人行为,如物质使用,吸烟,囤积经常被强调为住宅火灾的主要原因,掩盖了更广泛的社会经济和结构因素,这些因素在住房安全中也起着重要作用。本文探讨了住房条件不足和导致烧伤的火灾风险增加之间的相关性,关注塑造日常城市火灾风险的环境因素,经验,以及居住在温哥华市区东区(DTES)的单间入住(SRO)住房中的居民和在火灾中工作的工作人员的反应,健康,住房(社会和私人),和非营利部门。
方法:作为正在进行的人种学研究的一部分,我们与温哥华消防救援服务(VFRS)合作,私下进行参与者观察,非营利组织,和政府拥有的SRO,模块化住宅,一个临时的庇护所。本文综合了来自第一作者自我反思期刊的参与者观察的见解,包括与SRO租户等大约59个人的非正式对话,SRO经理/看护人,卫生工作者,烧伤幸存者,市政工作人员,非营利性员工,和消防员。
结果:确定了导致不公平的日常城市火灾风险的紧急住房相关问题,例如SRO建筑和系统的结构缺陷,废物管理和储存不足,以及解决囤积问题的不公平方法。此外,获取信息的差异以及人际和结构柱头之间的相互作用是重要的因素,强调迫切需要干预。
结论:像DTES这样的社区,面对不稳定的住房条件,弱势群体,以及复杂的健康和社会挑战,需要对防火和安全采取全面和整体的方法。认识到住房不稳定之间的相互作用,精神和身体健康问题,不受管制的有毒药物供应,毒品定罪,结构性不平等使各个部门的从业人员能够制定上下文驱动的防火策略。这种多方面的方法超越了个人行为的改变,对于解决导致服务不足的社区火灾风险的复杂问题至关重要。
BACKGROUND: Burn injuries are a significant public health concern, closely linked to housing conditions and socioeconomic status. Residents in socioeconomically deprived neighbourhoods are at increased risk of exposure to hazards due to older and poorer housing conditions and limited access to fire protection measures. Individual behaviours such as substance use, smoking, and hoarding are often highlighted as primary causes of residential
fires, overshadowing the broader socioeconomic and structural factors that also play a significant role in housing safety. This paper explores the correlation between inadequate housing conditions and heightened fire risks leading to burn injuries, focusing on the contextual factors shaping everyday urban fire risks, experiences, and responses of residents living in Single-Room Occupancy (SRO) housing in Vancouver\'s Downtown East Side (DTES) and staff working in the fire, health, housing (social and private), and non-profit sectors.
METHODS: As part of an ongoing ethnographic study, we partnered with the Vancouver Fire Rescue Services (VFRS) to conduct participant observations in private, non-profit, and government-owned SROs, modular homes, and a temporary shelter. This paper synthesizes insights from participant observations from the first author\'s self-reflexive journals, including informal conversations with approximately fifty-nine individuals such as SRO tenants, SRO managers/caretakers, health workers, burn survivors, municipal staff, not-for-profit staff, and firefighters.
RESULTS: Urgent housing-related issues contributing to inequitable everyday urban fire risks were identified, such as structural deficiencies in SRO buildings and systems, inadequate waste management and storage, and inequitable approaches to addressing hoarding. Additionally, disparities in access to information and the interaction between interpersonal and structural stigmas were significant factors, underscoring the pressing need for intervention.
CONCLUSIONS: Communities like DTES, facing precarious housing conditions, disadvantaged neighbourhoods, and complex health and social challenges, necessitate a comprehensive and holistic approach to fire prevention and safety. Recognizing the interplay between housing instability, mental and physical health issues, unregulated toxic drug supply, drug criminalization, and structural inequities allows practitioners from various sectors to develop contextually driven fire prevention strategies. This multifaceted approach transcends individual-level behaviour change and is crucial for addressing the complex issues contributing to fire risks in underserved communities.