Editor’s Note: Fire safety begins at home

Home fires continue to be the number one cause of fire deaths. Home fires also account for 74 percent of total reported civilian fire injuries and 63 percent of total reported direct property damage.

The good news – relatively speaking – is that the number of deaths resulting from fires in the U.S. has decreased. The bad news is that the number of actual fires is up.

A recent National Fire Protection Association study reported that an estimated 3,675 people died in fires in the U.S. in 2005. That’s a person every 143 minutes.

Although the number of fires increased 3.3 percent from the previous year, the overall number of fire deaths decreased by 5.8 percent in 2005. This was the third lowest fire death toll that NFPA has recorded since it began conducting this annual study in 1977.

In terms of property damage, there was a significant increase of 9 percent in property damage loss from the year prior, although NFPA says this largely reflected the unusually low damage toll in 2004. In 2005, fires resulted in an estimated $10.6 billion in property damage.

As always, home fires accounted for the most fire deaths – 82 percent of people died in home fires in 2005. Home fires continue to be the number one cause of fire deaths. Home fires also account for 74 percent of total reported civilian fire injuries and 63 percent of total reported direct property damage.

Outside of our homes, we are not entirely safe either. Fatalities occurring from fires in cars and other vehicles are responsible for the second highest number of fire deaths – an estimated 500 fire deaths (14 percent of the total) in 2005. All other buildings, vehicles, and locations accounted for 4 percent.

In 2005, public fire departments responded to an estimated 1.6 million fires. This included 381,000 reported home structure fires, 130,000 other structure fires, 259,000 highway vehicle fires, 31,000 other vehicle fires, and 801,000 outdoor fires.

The NFPA study suggests that fire prevention and safety in the home are key to continued reductions in the overall fire problem. Fire safety experts recommend the following strategies to prevent home fires and reduce their losses:

• Increase the reach of public fire safety education about fire prevention and how to avoid serious injury or death if fire occurs.

• Emphasize the use and maintenance of smoke alarms, as well as the need to develop and practice escape plans to best use the extra escape time smoke alarms provide.

• Expand the use of residential sprinklers in the home.

• Seek additional ways to make home products more fire safe.

• Address special fire safety needs of high-risk groups.

Once again, we are reminded how the insurance industry and safety experts share the same goal: fireproof homes, businesses and products.

The NFPA study, Fire Loss in the United States During 2005, is available at www.nfpa.org.

Topics USA Property