Adults age 65 and older are at a higher risk of death from fire than any other age group. According to the USFA report Fire in the United States Fifteenth Edition, older adults account for approximately 32 percent of all fire deaths. Fire prevention and planning are key elements in reducing the risk of deaths and injuries from fire. 

The growth in the number and proportion of older adults is unprecedented in the history of the United States. Two factors — longer life spans and aging baby boomers — will combine to double the population of Americans aged 65 and older to 71 million by 2030 (source: CDC), making fire prevention and education even more important for this at risk group.

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EMMITSBURG, MD. – The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) announces the release of two special reports regarding heating fires and portable heater fires in residential buildings.   An estimated average of 54,500 heating fires in residential buildings occurs each year in the United States.  Annually, these fires are responsible for an estimated 190 civilian fire deaths, 625 civilian fire injuries, and $286 million in property loss. 

Heating is the second leading cause of all residential building fires, following cooking, and is most prevalent during the winter when the use of central heating systems, portable heaters, and fireplaces is most common.  Portable heaters account for an estimated average of 3,800 fires in residential buildings and result in 115 deaths, 250 injuries, and $98 million in property damage each year.  Fifty percent of portable heater fires occur because the heat source is too close to combustibles.  

The reports, Heating Fires in Residential Buildings and Portable Heater Fires in Residential Buildings, were developed by the USFA’s National Fire Data Center as part of its Topical Fire Report Series and are based on data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) for 2005 to 2007.  The reports examine the causes and characteristics of all heating fires and portable heater fires that occur in residential buildings.

Copies of the topical reports can be downloaded from:  http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/statistics/reports/

 

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has released new materials to help communities raise awareness about the life-saving benefits of smoke alarms. Keeping Your Community Safe and Sound is a free collection of educational resources that make up an online tool kit to be used by local fire departments and others interested in raising community awareness about the need for smoke alarms, and providing valuable information about them.

“The importance of having smoke alarms in the home is often overlooked even though the benefits of having them are often life saving,” said Lorraine Carli, NFPA’s vice president of communications. “The death rate in reported home fires without working smoke alarms is twice as high as homes with working smoke alarms. It is critical that people understand the need to install them and how to maintain them to better protect themselves.”

According to the NFPA report on smoke alarms, 40 percent of home fire deaths resulted from fires with no smoke alarms in the home. Twenty-three percent of home fire deaths resulted from homes where a smoke alarm was present, but did not sound. In over half of these cases, the alarm did not sound because of disconnected or missing batteries. Having a working smoke alarm reduces the risk of death in a home fire by nearly 50 percent.

The resource tool kit materials are available for fire departments, public educators, or the general public and can be found online for no cost at www.nfpa.org/safeandsound. Printable materials include:  facts and figures on smoke alarms, handouts, public service print ads, videos on the basics of smoke alarms and safety tips, and other tools for communication.

In addition to being a source for public education materials on smoke alarm awareness and research findings on home fire deaths involving smoke alarms, NFPA is committed to smoke alarm awareness as the developer and publisher of NFPA 72:  National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code.

Keeping Your Community Safe and Sound is one of

seven free educational toolkits available from NFPA

. Others include

Keeping Your Community Safe with Home Fire Sprinklers, Keeping Your Community Safe and Energized, Keeping Your Community Cooking Safely, Keeping Your Community Safe and Warm, More Ways to Keep Your Community Safe and Warm

, and

Preparing Your Community for a Disaster. 
 

United States Fire Administrator Kelvin J. Cochran announced today the availability of the fifteenth edition of Fire in the United States. This edition of Fire in the United States covers the 5-year period from 2003 to 2007, with a primary focus on 2007. The purpose of the report is to aid the fire service, local leadership, and the general public with fire loss information which may be used to set priorities, establish and evaluate specific fire programs, and serve as a guide for fire data analyses at state and local levels of government.

“Since the inception of the United States Fire Administration in 1974, we have endeavored to provide the fire and emergency services the data it needs to combat the fire problem which still exists in the country” Cochran said. “This fifteenth edition of the Fire in the United States will emphasize the areas which still need improvement so we may continue to reduce the nation’s fire losses, especially deaths and injuries.”

The report focuses on the national fire problem and provides an overview of fires and losses in buildings, vehicles and other mobile properties, and other properties. The report also examines fire and fire loss trends, fire casualties by population characteristics, and fire cause profiles by property type. Detailed analyses of the residential and nonresidential building fire problems will be published as stand-alone reports.

Fire in the United States is a statistical overview of fires in the United States, focusing on the latest year in which data were available at the time of preparation. The primary source of data is the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS), along with data from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), State Fire Marshals’ offices, U.S. Census Bureau, and the Consumer Price Index.

Fire in the United States

may be downloaded from the USFA’s Web site at

http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/statistics/reports/fius.shtm

. 

Printed copies are expected to be available at a later date.

 

Our members out did themselves again this year! read more ...