Fire, alarms and social harms: Fear of fire, ontological insecurity and the meaning of home

Gurney, C. (2022) Fire, alarms and social harms: Fear of fire, ontological insecurity and the meaning of home. Housing Studies Association Conference 2022, Sheffield, UK, 4-6 April 2022. (Unpublished)

Abstract

The post-Grenfell building safety crisis in the UK has exposed a range of negative mental health consequences for residents living in dwellings which incorporate “flammable cladding and insulation, missing or inadequate fire breaks, compartmentation and fire doors, and flammable materials on balconies” (Preece, 2021, p 6). Jenny Preece’s research offers compelling evidence for the consequences of the accumulation of psychological harms of living with fear of fire upon a sample of 32 leaseholders affected by the building safety crisis. Inspired by Preece’s work, this paper offers a critical reassessment of the argument that home uniquely offers a source of ontological security and further develops the argument that home is equally a place where social harms are accumulated and experienced (Gurney 2020; 2021). The paper provides a secondary analysis of the “feeling safe from fire” data reported in the English Housing Survey (DLUHC/MHCLG 2021, 2020, 2019) and reports the results of an international systematic literature mapping exercise into the extant research on fear of fire in residential settings. The paper concludes with some conceptual remarks about fire, fear and home and makes some suggestions for further research in housing studies and beyond

• Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item
• Keywords: Fire, Fear of Fire, Un-homing, ontological insecurity, social harms, Grenfell
• Status: Unpublished
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Gurney, Dr Craig
• Authors: Gurney, C.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Urban Studies

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