| FAST FIRE FACTS |
| * In 2007, U.S. fire departments responded to 399,000
home fires. These fires killed almost 2,900 people.
Eighty-four percent of all fire deaths resulted from home fires. |
| * Someone was injured in a home fire every 39 minutes
adn roughly eight people died in home fires every day during 2007. |
| * A fire department responded to a home fire every 79
seconds. |
| * Sixty-three percent of reported home fire deaths
happened in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. |
| * About 1/3 of home fires and deaths happened in the
months of December, January and February. |
| * Cooking continued to be the leading cause of home
fires and injuries followed by heating, electrical and intentional fires. |
| * Smoking materials caused one of every four home
fire deaths. |
| * The kitchen is the leading area of origin for home
fires. However, bedrooms and living/family rooms are the leading
areas of origin for home fire deaths. |
| BURNS |
| * Burn injuries result in hundreds of thousands of
emergency room visits a year. Thermal burns outnumber scalds nearly
two-to-one. |
| COOKING |
| * Cooking is the leading cause of home fires,
accounting for 40% of reported home fires and 36% of related injuries. |
| * Unattended cooking is the leading cause of cooking
fires. |
| * U.S. fire departments responded to 146,400 home
structure fires involving cooking equipment in 2005. These fires
caused 480 civilian fire deaths, 4,690 civilian fire injuries and $876
million in direct property damage. |
| * Twelve percent of the fires occurred when something
that could catch fire was too close to the equipment. |
| SMOKING |
| * Smoking materials (i.e., cigarettes, cigars, pipes,
etc.) are the leading cause of fire deaths (roughly one in four) in the
United States. |
| * There were 142,900 smoking-material fires in the
United States in 2006, causing 780 civilian deaths and 1,600 civilian
injuries. |
| * Older adults are at the highest risk of death or
injury from smoking-material fires even though they are le3ss likely to
smoke than younger adults. |
| * The most common items first ignited in home
smoking-material fire deaths were upholstered furniture and mattresses or
bedding. |
| * One out of four victims of fatal smoking-related
fires is not the smoker whose cigarette started the fire. |
| HEATING |
| * In 2006, heating equipment was involved in an
estimated 64,100 reported home structure fires, 540 civilian deaths, 1,400
civilian injuries, and $943 million in direct property damage. |
| * In 2006, heating equipment fires accounted for 16%
of all reported home fires (second behind cooking) and 21% of home fire
deaths. |
| * More than half of all heating related fire deaths
in 2003-2006 resulted from fires in December, January and February. |
| * Space heaters result in far more fires and losses
than central heating devices and have higher risks relative to usage. |
| * Fixed or portable space heaters were involved in 4%
of the home fires and 17% of the home fire deaths. |
| * Most of the space heater fires were caused by the
space heater being too close to things that could burn. |
| ELECTRICAL |
| * Electrical distribution or lighting equipment was
involved in 25,100 reported home structure fires in 2006. These
fires caused 370 deaths. |
| * Lamps, light fixtures and light bulbs accounted for
5,500 home structure fires per year. |
| * Wiring switches or outlets caused more than 10,000
home fire structures per year. Cord or plugs accounted for
2,600. Cords and plugs accounted for 1% of the home fires and 5% of
home fire deaths. |
| INTERNATIONAL FIRES |
| * In 2003-2006, 17,900 intentionally set home
structures fires were reported each year, resulting in 320 deaths and $542
million in property loss. |
| SMOKE ALARMS |
| * Smoke alarms play a vital role in reducing deaths
and injuries from fire adn have contributed to the almost 50% decrease in
fire deaths since the late 1970s. Properly installed and maintained
smoke alarms save lives and protect against injury and loss due to fire. |
| * A 2004 U.S. telephone survey found that 96% of U.S.
households had at least one smoke alarm, yet in 2003-2006, no smoke alarms
sounded in only half of the reported home fires. |
| * Almost two-thirds (63%) of reported home fire
deaths in 2003-2006 resulted from fires in homes with no smoked alarms or
no working smoke alarms. |
| * Two-thirds of the fire deaths occurred in homes
with no working smoke alarms. |
| * In one out of every five homes equipped with at
least one smoke alarm installed, not a single one was working. |
| * When smoke alarms fail it is most often because of
missing, disconnected or dead batteries. Nuisance activations were
the leading cause of disabled smoke alarms. |
| HOME ESCAPE PLANNING |
| * According to an NFPA survey, only one in four
Americans have actually developed and practiced a home fire safety plan to
ensure they could escape quickly and safely. |
| * While 66% of Americans have an escape plan in case
of a fire, only 35% of those have practiced it. |
| * One-third of American households who made an
estimate thought they would have at least 6 minutes before a fire in their
home would become life-threatening. The time available is often
less. And only 8% said their first thought on hearing a smoke alarm
would be to get out! |
| * Eighteen to 24-year-olds are the least likely to
have even developed an escape plan. |
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TRADITION
WITH A VISION'