ABSTRACT:
Fire incidents remain a significant public safety concern in urban communities, leading to injury, loss of life, and property damage. Awareness of the fire triangle — heat, fuel, and oxygen — is essential for fire prevention and control. This study aimed to assess the level of awareness regarding the fire triangle among urban residents of Mysore, evaluate their perception toward fire safety, determine the correlation between awareness and perception, and identify associations with selected demographic variables. A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted, involving 60 urban residents selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire including demographic details, awareness questions, and a Likert scale for perception assessment. Reliability was established using Karl Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and validity was confirmed through expert evaluation. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and chi-square tests. Results showed that 60% of participants had adequate awareness, 26.7% moderate awareness, and 13.3% poor awareness. The mean awareness score was 57.40% (SD±4.21), indicating moderate knowledge levels. Perception scores averaged 55.4% (SD±7.51), reflecting a positive attitude toward fire safety. A strong positive correlation (r = 0.80) was observed between awareness and perception. Significant associations were found between awareness and demographic variables such as age, gender, education, and income. The study concludes that improving community-based educational programmes and awareness campaigns is necessary to enhance fire-safety knowledge and preventive behaviour among urban residents.