It is significant that the majority of these deaths happened in the home, mostly between the hours of 8.00 pm and 8.00 am. Indeed, in 2004, 33 of the 35 deaths by fire which happened in Dublin were in the home, across 28 different residences, with 90% of these fires occurring in the living room or the bedroom.

But there is an even more telling statistic. Of these 28 homes, only three had a properly working smoke alarm.

Turning tragedy into statistics is never pleasant. But at least these statistics tell us one thing . . . that the greatest risk to lives from fires comes from within our own homes, usually due to a lack of a working smoke alarm. And it is fire safety in the home which will form one of the central themes during Fire Safety Week, which will run from October 2 to October 9.

Fire Safety Week was formerly organised by the National Safety Council, but with the establishment of the Road Safety Authority and the subsequent disbandment of the NSC, the responsibility for the promotion of fire safety, and hence the organisation of Fire Safety Week, has fallen to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. And while details of this year's Week are yet to be announced, it will be run on a similar basis to other years, with extensive publicity/advertising and awareness campaigns, including events run in conjunction with other organisations and schools.

The local authorities in the greater Dublin area have been particularly active in promoting fire safety through a number of initiatives, none more important than Fire Safety Week. Like last year, a strong focus will be on education towards prevention, and like last year, Dublin City Council will be running a competition for schools to design posters relating to fire safety in the home. And, in addition to choosing a winner, the 12 best posters will be published as part of a calendar for next year.

"This year's calendar was very successful, both in terms of artistic merit and in terms of content, " said Joe Gannon, senior executive fire safety counsellor at Dublin City Council. "So we hope now that we will be able to use some of the coming entries on a national basis, highlighting the various problems regarding fire safety in the home . . . problems such as faulty plugs, fires with no guards, fireguards with clothes left on them, etc."

Last year, the competition had no fewer than 5,000 entries, although Gannon hopes that this year will see an even higher number. Invitations to take part in the competition are currently being sent to schools throughout the four boroughs that make up the counties of Dublin.

However even outside of the competition, Joe Gannon is using Fire Safety Week to highlight the whole issue of fire safety in the home . . . and is stressing the three golden rules of staying safe. Firstly, conduct a regular fire drill.

Secondly, test your smoke alarm to make sure that it is working properly. And thirdly, carry out a safety survey of your home, and implement any measures which would be required to make it safer.

"We are trying to raise awareness, especially coming into winter time, which is the most dangerous time of the year for fires, " he said. "People under the age of 12 and over the age of 60 are most at risk, and most tragedies occur in winter, with many deaths taking place in homes where there are no smoke alarms. And this is despite the fact that alarms are a simple requirement and not expensive."

Gannon believes that changes in modern society have, in some ways, placed people more at risk . . . and a clamping down on driving while drunk combined with the smoking ban are making more and more people stay at home to socialise . . . thereby increasing the risk of fires through careless use of a cigarette.

"We need to be more vigilant, and we need to pay more attention to fire safety in the home, " he said. "Familiarise yourself with escape routes, install and test your smoke alarms and, overall, be proactive about fire safety."