Fire Prevention

FIRE PREVENTION

Fire deaths

In 2003, there were 388,500 reported home fires in the United States, resulting in 3,145 deaths, 13,650 injuries, and $5.9 billion in direct property damage. In the US, someone dies from a home fire roughly every three hours.
In Canada, someone is fatally injured in a residential fire roughly every 32 hours.
Candles are responsible for a growing percentage of home fires. In 2001, candles were responsible for 6% of the fatalities that occurred as a result of home fires.
Roughly half of all home fire deaths in the US resulted from fires that were reported between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. But only one-quarter of home fires occur between those hours.
Although children five and under make up about 7% of the country's population, they accounted for 12% of the home fire deaths, assigning them a risk almost twice the national average.
Older adults are also at greater risk of dying in a home fire than the population at large. Adults 65 and older face a risk twice the average, while people 85 and older have a risk that is three-and-a-half times more than average.
Smoking was the leading cause of home fire deaths overall, but in the months of December, January, and February; smoking and heating equipment caused similar shares of fire deaths.

Candles

Over the last decade, candle fires have tripled. In 2001 alone, an estimated 18,000 home fires started by candles were reported to fire departments, an all time high. These fires resulted in 190 deaths, 1,450 injuries and an estimated property loss of $265 million.
Forty-one percent of US home candle fires begin in the bedroom, causing 24% of the deaths resulting from these fires.
A special study found that the candles were being used for light in one-third of the fatal home candle fires, generally because power to the home had been shut off due to nonpayment (24%) or as a result of a temporary power outage (7%).
December had almost twice the number of home candle fires of an average month.
Seven out of 10 households in the US now use candles, with younger adults more likely to use them than older adults.

Smoke alarms

Since the 1970's, when smoke alarms first became widely available to households in the United States, the fire death rate has been reduced by half.
Roughly 70% of home fire deaths result from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
A 2004 US telephone survey found that 96% of the households surveyed had at least one smoke alarm.
About half of home fire deaths result from fires in the small percentage of homes with no smoke alarms.
In one-quarter of the reported fires in homes equipped with smoke alarms, the devices did not work, most often because of missing, disconnected, or dead batteries.
Smoke alarms that are 10 years old have a 30% chance of failing to work properly and should be replaced.

Home escape planning

According to a 2004 NFPA survey, only one in four Americans has devised and practiced a plan to escape from the home during a fire.
While 66% of Americans have an escape plan in case of a fire, only 35% of those with a plan have practiced it.
Eighteen to 24-year-olds are the least likely to have even developed an escape plan.

Cooking

Heating

During the months of December, January and February, heating equipment is the leading cause of home fires. About two-thirds of home heating fire deaths were caused by portable or fixed space heaters.
In 2001, an estimated 54,900 home heating equipment fires were reported to US fire departments, resulting in 220 civilian deaths, 1,120 civilian injuries, and $502 million in property damage.

Smoking materials

Smoking materials (i.e., cigarettes, cigars, pipes, etc.) are the leading cause of fire deaths and the third leading cause of fire injuries in the US
Roughly one of every four fire US deaths in 2001, (excluding September 11) was attributed to smoking materials.
The most common material first ignited in home smoking material-related fires was trash or waste, followed by mattresses and bedding, and upholstered furniture.

Electrical

Electrical distribution equipment (including wiring, switches, outlets, cords and plugs, fuse and circuit breaker boxes, lighting fixtures and lamps) was the fifth leading cause of home fires and the sixth leading cause of fire deaths in the United States between 1999 and 2002.
The most common types of electrical distribution equipment involved in home fires are 1) fixed wiring, 2) lamps or lighting, and 3) cords or plugs.

Home fire sprinklers

Properly installed and maintained, automatic fire sprinkler systems help save lives
When sprinklers are present, the chances of dying in a fire and the average property loss per fire are both cut by one-half to two-thirds, compared to where sprinklers are not present.
Automatic fire sprinklers and smoke alarms together cut your risk of dying in a fire in a one or two-family dwelling by 82% when compared to having neither.

For more information on fire safety and prevention, visit the National Fire Protection Association and have your kids check out Sparky The Fire Dog.