MFS begins program to help hoarders reduce their fire risk in SA

Nearly 25 per cent of house fire fatalities occur in the homes of hoarders – and the MFS is worried.

Almost one in four preventable house fire fatalities occur in the homes of people affected by hoarding, says the Metropolitan Fire Service, potentially affecting up to 45,000 houses across SA.

The worrying statistic has prompted the MFS to develop a dedicated program to reduce the fire-safety risk in properties involving hoarding.

An 18-month trial of the program has so far assisted more than 100 people. The MFS program – called People and Their Hoarding (PATH), is being announced today.

“Yes - I do believe it has and will save lives,” MFS community engagement manager Vinny Schar said of the new program.

MFS Community Engagement Manager Vinny Schar. Picture Dean Martin

Hoarding is a mental health disorder involving the persistent difficulty to part with items and results in an excessive accumulation of things regardless of their value.

The MFS says up to 6 per cent of residential properties in SA involve hoarding.

Mr Schar said Australian research had identified 24 per cent of fire fatalities occurred in properties where hoarding was present – one of the highest fire-risk factors.

On average, 64 lives are lost each year in Australia in preventable house fires – 15 of them people who lived in properties affected by hoarding.

Mr Schar said fires in hoarding properties were bigger, more intense and more difficult to access, control and extinguish, and put the safety of houses occupants and fire crew at much greater risk.

He said the higher fire-safety risk associated with hoarding was compounded if other factors were present, such as being older, socially isolated, suffering from a physical and/or mental disability, smoking and drinking alcohol.

“All these factors, along with a cluttered environment, is a high fire risk,” he said.

The PATH program is free, confidential and voluntary, and designed to assist residents, home-care providers and other support agencies to improve home-fire safety for people who hoard.

“The PATH program is about treating people with dignity while helping to ensure they have suitable egress to escape if a fire occurs, and enough working smoke alarms to provide early warning if a fire occurs,” Mr Schar said.

For more information call the MFS on 8204 3611 (country callers: 1300 737 637), email: [e-mail], or visit mfs.gov.au