- Author
- Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Title
- Older Adults and Fire.
- Coporate
- Federal Emergency Management Agency, Emmitsburg, MD
- Journal
- Topical Fire Research Series, Vol. 1, No. 5, 1-4, January 2001
- Distribution
- For more information about Topical Fire Research Series contact: Website: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/nfdc/tfrs.htm AVAILABLE FROM: U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 16825 South Seton Ave., Emmitsburg, MD 21727. Telephone: 301-447-1000. Website: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/
- Keywords
- adults | elderly persons | casualties | fire statistics | health care facilities | nursing homes
- Identifiers
- older Americans represent a high fire risk group. 13% of the population is 65 or older, and this percentage is expected to grow rapidly; 1,200 older adults die each year from fire, the sixth leading cause of death in this population group; smoking is the leading cause of fire deaths among older adults, and cooking is the leading cause of injuries; disabilities in the elderly-vision and hearing loss and mobility impairments-exacerbate the fire risk; poverty increases fire risk, and 10% of the older population lives at or below the poverty line