- Author
- Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Title
- Lightning Fires.
- Coporate
- Federal Emergency Management Agency, Emmitsburg, MD
- Journal
- Topical Fire Research Series, Vol. 2, No. 6, 1-3, August 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
- lightning | fire statistics | costs | injuries | fire fatalities
- Identifiers
- each year, lightning is the cause of an estimated 17,400 fires. Injuries and deaths per lightning fire are relatively small, but dollar loss per fire is nearly twice that from all U.S. fires; two-thirds of lightning fires occur June-August; 55% of lightning fires occur outdoors, and 41% occur in structures. Deaths and injuries occur mostly in structures (89% and 86%, respectively); roofs, sidewalls, framing, and electrical wires are the areas most ignited by lightning fires