A former Fire Chief of Fiji says the greatest fire risk to people and households in the Pacific is lit mosquito coils.

Mark Reid told Radio Australia's Pacific Beat program the Pacific has one of highest death rates due to fire, and that most fatalities are due to common mistakes.

"Sadly, the greatest risk is mosquito coils," he said.

"Often the holder is missing, there might not be a plate to put it on, it might be put on a mat or near some bedding.

Listen Duration: 2 minutes 23 seconds 2 m 23 s Listen Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. House fires still a concern in the Pacific ( Geraldine Coutts ) Download 1.1 MB "The information we have right across the region is that that mosquito coils, cooking fires, kerosine lamps, hurricane lamps, and particularly in Fiji the prayer dias in some homes are the greatest cause of fire."

The burning of mosquito coils prevent mosquito-borne diseases, so mosquito coils are necessary across the Pacific.

But containing the embers so they don't catch flammable materials continues to be the cause of catastrophic fire.

"It's the sort of program we've been trying to get Rotary or some other service organisation involved to develop," he says.

"A holder that can't be used for anything else, instead of using a plate, or as most people would have, concrete or a hard floor to put it on."

"While we know we can buy these things in the shop, most Pacific islanders probably wouldn't want to invest that sort of money to have a fire-safe smoke holder."

In small countries, with small populations, the impact of fire is dramatic.

Mr Reid says recent examples such as a boarding school fire in Tuvalu where a number of girls where killed in a locked building have a national impact.

"Locked doors, particularly in urban areas where there's the fear of rascals or home invasion, is a real big issue," he said.