Over 16,000 English homes have been deemed a fire risk due to dangerous levels of hoarding, with Merseyside and Greater London topping the regional list.
Newspapers stacked against doors, compressed gas cylinders and 'biological hazards' such as used incontinence products - these are just a few examples of the risks fire brigades have flagged up in homes around the country.
Figures show Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service have logged a whopping 6,333 home addresses with dangerous amounts of clutter, while Greater London have recorded 1,675.
Crews in the worst-offending county conduct more than 50,000 inspectiions of properties every year, 10,000 of which are for premises deemed high fire risk.
Firefighters have a duty to report hazards to social services, if they fear the clutter could cause fires to rage out of control, as well as obstacles that could compromise escape routes.
Merseyside has a table-topping 6,333 homes flagged up as fire risks due to hoarding, followed by Greater London with 1,675 and Wiltshire and Dorset with 1,089
The findings come from an exclusive MailOnline Freedom of Information (FoI) survey of the 45 fire brigades in England.
Only 31 of the nation's 45 fire brigades responded to the FoI survey, meaning the total number of fire-trap hoarder houses could be closer to 20,000.
Mark Andrews, Assistant Chief Fire Officer at East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, suggested domestic sprinkler systems could be fitted into houses with excess hoarding to significantly reduce the risk to the occupants in the premises'.
The Clutter Index: The International OCD Foundation has created a 1-9 ranking used by social workers to measure how bad hoarders' homes are. A number of fire brigades said they kept a record of houses that scored higher than 7 (pictured, clutter index rankings 1 and 7)
How messy is it? The Clutter Index allows social workers to communicate to fire brigades just how many obstacles they should expect when carrying out a rescue operation. As well as the level of clutter, some fire brigades keep records of the presence of 'environmental health concerns', like human waste or animal infestations
Cardboard boxes filled with old photos and newspapers block light from the window of property attended by fire fighters
Mark Andrews, Assistant Chief Fire Officer at East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, suggested domestic sprinkler systems could be fitted into houses with excess hoarding to significantly reduce the risk to the occupants in the premises'.
Firefighters in the worst area for hoarding, Merseyside, conduct 50,000 inspectiions of properties every year - 10,000 of which
