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second hand articles being passed from person to person as gifts. That such equipment
has already been used without accident is no guarantee that it is not still potentially
dangerous.
Talks on home safety, including the safe use of oil heaters, were given to a
number of old people's clubs and other groups.
Towards the end of the year the Greater London Home Safety Council of
ROSPA promoted a competition for home safety slogans. The department cooperated
in a wide distribution of entry forms and it was gratifying to learn that one
of the prizewinners from the many thousands of entries received was a young
Southwark schoolgirl.
Although it is probably inequitable to compare the incidence of fires purely on a
population basis without regard to densities or areas, London Fire Brigade statistics
show that on a population basis the number of fires of all types in the Borough
during 1967 was higher than for the Greater London area. At the same time, comparing
fires attributed to oil heaters with the total fire incidents, the local figure
was somewhat lower than for Greater London.
Greater London Southwark
Total fires 1967 (including grass and chimney fires) 32,956 2,048
Portable oil heater fires 988 55
Grass and chimney fires (included in above total) 7,284 254
The following table shows the number of persons removed to hospitals from
Southwark by the London Ambulance Service, following accidents in the home
during the year.
Age
Males
Females
Under 1
14
8
1- 4
80
63
5-14
64
41
15-24
35
31
25-44
58
65
45-64
75
112
65-74
33
116
75 and over
64
281
Unknown
2
3
425
720
Home Accidents survey: In February, the Boroughs of Greenwich, Lewisham and
Southwark co-operated in a joint experimental project to ascertain the cause and
extent of non-fatal home accidents. Enquiry forms were sent to all local general
practitioners and hospital casualty departments for completion and return by the
patient attending for treatment but unfortunately the small number returned could
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