Burns and fires in South Africa's informal settlements: Have approved kerosene stoves improved safety?

This study is a follow-on to an intervention project that implemented South African Bureau of Standards approved kerosene stoves and safety education in 150 households of a Johannesburg informal settlement. An investigation conducted 12 months later established that 43 stoves had operational defects, yet 23 households continued using the faulty appliances. This study focuses on (1) the psychological and behavioural factors associated with continued use of faulty stoves by the 23 households, and (2), the specific technical failures of these stoves. The study involved one-on-one recall interviews with the households using defective stoves (N=21) and laboratory-based stove tests for seven of the affected appliances. The results indicate that the stoves had defects in critical safety features such as flame control and the self-extinguishing mechanism. Four stove malfunctions of minor burn affect were reported in the study. Continued use of the damaged stoves was significantly associated with the time from receipt of the stove to detection of first failure: stoves that failed later on were more significantly likely to remain in use as compared to those that failed sooner. The findings point to the need for strengthening enforcement of appliance standards, public education on kerosene stove use, and structural change for the energy-poor.