Fire Deaths and Injuries, Facts

Fire Deaths and Injuries
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Fire Deaths and Injuries: Fact Sheet

Occurrence and Consequences

· On average in the United States in 2002, someone died in a fire nearly every 3 hours, and someone was injured every 37 minutes (Karter 2003).

· Four out of every five U.S. fire deaths in 2002 occurred in homes (Karter 2003).

· In 2002, fire departments responded to 401,000 home fires in the United States, which claimed the lives of an estimated 2,670 people (not including firefighters) and injured another 14,050 (Karter 2003).

· Most victims of fires die from smoke or toxic gases and not from burns (Hall 2001).

· Cooking is the primary cause of residential fires; smoking is the leading cause of fire-related deaths (Ahrens 2001).

Costs

In 2002, residential fires caused more than $6.1 billion in property damage(Karter 2001).

Groups at Risk

Groups at increased risk of fire-related injuries and deaths include:

Children 4 and under (CDC 1998);
Adults 65 and older (CDC 1998);
African Americans and Native Americans (CDC 1998);
The poorest Americans (Istre 2001);
Persons living in rural areas (Ahrens 2001a);
Persons living in manufactured homes or substandard housing (Runyan 1992; Parker 1993).

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Risk Factors

Approximately half of home fire deaths occur in homes without smoke alarms (Ahrens 2001b).
Most residential fires occur during the winter months(CDC 1998).
Alcohol use contributes to an estimated 40% of residential fire deaths (Smith 1999).

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References

Ahrens M. The U.S. fire problem overview report: leading causes and other patterns and trends. Quincy (MA): National Fire Protection Association; 2001.

Ahrens M. U.S. experience with smoke alarms and other fire alarms. Quincy (MA): National Fire Protection Association; 2001b.

CDC. Deaths resulting from residential fires and the prevalence of smoke alarms - United States 1991–1995. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 1998; 47(38): 803–6.

CDC, National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). National vital statistics system. Hyattsville (MD): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, National Center for Health Statistics; 1998.

Hall JR. Burns, toxic gases, and other hazards associated with fires: Deaths and injuries in fire and non-fire situations. Quincy (MA): National Fire Protection Association, Fire Analysis and Research Division; 2001.

Istre GR, McCoy MA, Osborn L, Barnard JJ, Bolton A. Deaths and injuries from house fires. New England Journal of Medicine 2001;344:1911–16.

Karter MJ. Fire loss in the United States during 2002. Quincy (MA): National Fire Protection Association, Fire Analysis and Research Division; 2003.

Parker DJ, Sklar DP, Tandberg D, Hauswald M, Zumwalt RE. Fire fatalities among New Mexico children. Annals of Emergency Medicine 1993;22(3):517–22.

Runyan CW, Bangdiwala SI, Linzer MA, Sacks JJ, Butts J. Risk factors for fatal residential fires. New England Journal of Medicine 1992;327(12):859–63.

Smith GS, Branas C, Miller TR. Fatal nontraffic injuries involving alcohol: a meta-analysis. Annals of Emergency Medicine 1999;33(6):659–68.

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This page last reviewed 09/23/04.

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