Fire Deaths and Injuries:
Fact Sheet
Overview
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Although the number of fatalities and injuries caused by residential fires has declined gradually over the past several decades, many residential fire-related deaths remain preventable and continue to pose a significant public health problem.
Occurrence and Consequences
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On average in the United States in 2006, someone died in a fire about every 162 minutes, and someone was injured every 32 minutes (Karter 2007).
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Four out of five U.S. fire deaths in 2005 occurred in homes (Karter 2007).
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In 2006, fire departments responded to 412,500 home fires in the United States, which claimed the lives of 2,580 people (not including firefighters) and injured another 12,925, not including firefighters (Karter 2007).
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Most victims of fires die from smoke or toxic gases and not from burns (Hall 2001).
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Smoking is the leading cause of fire-related deaths (Ahrens 2003).
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Cooking is the primary cause of residential fires (Ahrens 2003).
Costs
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In 2005, residential fires caused nearly $7 billion in property damage (Karter 2007).
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Fire and burn injuries represent 1% of the incidence of injuries and 2% of the total costs of injuries, or $7.5 billion each year (Finkelstein et al. 2006).
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Males account for $4.8 billion (64%) of the total costs of fire/burn injuries.
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Females account for $2.7 billion (36%) of the total costs of fire/burn injuries.
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Fatal fire and burn injuries cost $3 billion, representing 2% of the total costs of all fatal injuries.
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Hospitalized fire and burn injuries total $1 billion, or 1% of the total cost of all hospitalized injuries.
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Non-hospitalized fire and burn injuries cost $3 billion, or 2% of the total cost of all non-hospitalized injuries.
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Groups at Risk
Groups at increased risk of fire-related injuries and deaths include:
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Children 4 and under (CDC 1998);
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Older Adults ages 65 and older (CDC 1998);
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African Americans and Native Americans (CDC 1998);
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The poorest Americans (Istre 2001);
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Persons living in rural areas (Ahrens 2003);
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Persons living in manufactured homes or substandard housing (Runyan 1992; Parker 1993).
Risk Factors
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Approximately half of home fire deaths occur in homes without smoke alarms (Ahrens 2004).
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Most residential fires occur during the winter months (CDC 1998).
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Alcohol use contributes to an estimated 40% of residential fire deaths (Smith 1999).
References
Ahrens M. The U.S. fire problem overview report: leading causes and other
patterns and trends. Quincy (MA): National Fire Protection Association;
2003.
Ahrens M. U.S. experience with smoke alarms and other fire alarms. Quincy
(MA): National Fire Protection Association; 2004.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Deaths resulting from
residential fires and the prevalence of smoke alarms - United States
1991�95. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 1998; 47(38): 803�
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 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.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web-based Injury Statistics
Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [Online]. (2005). National Center for
Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(producer). Available from: URL:
www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars. [Cited 2006 Aug 21].
Finkelstein EA, Corso PS, Miller TR, Associates. Incidence and Economic
Burden of Injuries in the United States. New York: Oxford University Press;
2006.
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.
International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics. World fire
statistics: information bulletin of the world fire statistics. Geneva
(Switzerland): The Geneva Association; 2003.
Istre GR, McCoy MA, Osborn L, Barnard JJ, Bolton A. Deaths and injuries from
house fires. New England Journal of Medicine 2001;344:1911�.
Karter MJ. Fire loss in the United States during 2006,. Quincy (MA):
National Fire Protection Association, Fire Analysis and Research Division;
2007.
Parker DJ, Sklar DP, Tandberg D, Hauswald M, Zumwalt RE. Fire fatalities
among New Mexico children. Annals of Emergency Medicine 1993;22(3):517�.
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�.
Runyan SW, Casteel C (Eds.). The state of home safety in America: Facts
about unintentional injuries in the home, 2nd edition. Washington, D.C.:
Home Safety Council, 2004.
Smith GS, Branas C, Miller TR. Fatal nontraffic injuries involving alcohol:
a meta-analysis. Annals of Emergency Medicine 1999;33(6):659�.