15 years
From the Times article:
The Backpacker Hostel Fire Safety Guide advises travellers to avoid hostels with bars on the windows or staying in a room higher than the second floor or where bunk beds are wedged against fire doors. The guide will be distributed free to businesses that come into contact with travellers aged 18-35 and is a free download from the internet.
Wonder if this is the guide they mention...
I know comparing mortality statistics to things like drowning, bee-stings etc are pointless, but the real risk of death in a hostel/hotel seems overblown to me.
Tom Griffiths, the founder of the service, said that more fires may not have been recorded. “Fires in hostels are as great a risk to backpackers now as malariaand dehydration, traditionally the two biggest causes of preventable deaths and illness among travellers,” he said.
According to this site. There are 700-800 cases of travellers in Australia alone with Malaria (caught elsewhere) each year. I must be missing something...
I'm all for providing people with as much information as possible so they can make good decisions. So if someone stays safe because they've read that guide then great.
That article is just a loose POS though.
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