Economic burden of fire-related deaths in Finland, 2000–2010: Indirect costs using a human capital approach

Background The aim of this research was to assess the indirect economic burden of fire-related deaths in Finland in the period 2000–2010. Methods Data on all fire-related deaths during 2000–2010 in Finland were obtained from the Causes of Death register administered by Statistics Finland supplemented with demographic/socioeconomic data. Lost household- and work-related productivity was valued by a Human Capital method. Additionally, Potential Years of Life Lost due to the fire-related deaths was reported. Results A total of 1090 fire-related deaths were observed during the period 2000–2010 in a population of some 5.4 million. The majority of the victims died of combustion gas poisoning (65%) followed by burns (33%). Annually lost Potential Years of Life ranged from 2094 to 3299 with an annual average of 2763. Total productivity losses in the period 2000–2010 reached EUR 342 million with overall mean for a victim at EUR 0.315 million and annual average of EUR 31.1 million while using a three per cent discount rate. Conclusions Losses due to fire-related deaths are high and this study remedies the lack of academic knowledge about the issue.