More than 600 people die in Britain every year in domestic blazes, with 10,000 more seriously injured.

Fire chiefs in Hampshire believe these numbers can be drastically cut - by persuading residents and landlords to put automatic sprinklers in their homes - and they want Southampton to show the way.

Shared homes are two-and-a-half times more likely to be hit by fire than family houses. As a city with a large proportion of shared housing, this presents a serious headache for the fire service.

With the demand for multiple-occupancy homes on the increase, not least among Southamp-ton's 20,000-strong student population, the risk is getting greater all the time.

One problem is cost. A typical sprinkler system can cost about £2,500 to install.

However, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service was today gathering some of the city's landlords, responsible for about 80 per cent of Southampton's rental market between them, in a bid to spread their message. The service hopes to use the city as an example of how effective sprinklers can be in saving both lives and property.

"Our ultimate aim is to use Southampton as a model, and we will be talking to landlords and students," said Stewart Adamson, of Hampshire's Technical Fire Safety Unit.

"We've got a few on board already, and we're hoping this meeting can persuade others of the benefits.

"Once we have successfully got sprinklers installed across the city and can show their effectiveness, we will take that model to other local authorities and say look how well it works'."

When a fire breaks out, it can reach 800C in less than ten minutes, belching out choking and toxic black smoke that kills almost instantly. Although smoke detectors provide a vital early warning, they do nothing to stop a blaze spreading.

However, sprinkler systems, which are designed to go off only in an affected area, can limit the fire and even put it out, sometimes before the fire crews have arrived on the scene.

So far across Britain, where sprinklers have been correctly installed there has never been a death from fire.

Keith Chapman, of Hampshire Fire Authority said: "The government must realise fire prevention is important and change laws to make it compulsory to install sprinklers."