- Author
- Hall, J. R., Jr.
- Title
- Manufactured Home Fires, 1988-1989. Interim Report.
- Coporate
- National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA
- Sponsor
- Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, DC
- Report
- Interim Report, February 1991, 106 p.
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service Available from HUD USER, P. O. Box 6091, Rockville, MD 20850
- Contract
- HUD-HC-15744
- Keywords
- home fires | housing | fire detectors | fire prevention | fire safety | safety standards
- Identifiers
- manufactured housing; fire resistant design
- Abstract
- During 1990 the National Fire Protection Association Fire Analysis and Research Division began a study of 1988-1989 manufactured-home fires with emphasis on the impact of HUD's 1976 standards. Fires in 1988 are compared to those in all other years since 1977. Analysis of the impact of HUD standards compares fires in manufactured homes built prior to 1976 (pre-standard) to fires in those built after 1976 (post-standard). Overall analyses that directly compare pre-1976 and post-1976 manufactured home fires show significant differences, but trends in overall manufactured-home fires do not show corresponding progress in declining total losses. Smoke detectors account for a significant portion of the difference in fire death rates between pre-standard and post-standard manufactured homes. The flame-spread requirements and the increased use of gypsum board apparently have reduced the average size of fires in post-standard manufactured homes. Other provisions of the standards either show little impact, produce mixed evidence, or cannot be assessed. Recommendations pertain to continued evaluation of the impact of HUD standards, with attention to a separation of the effects of home aging from the effects of the standards; a study of factors in the absence of smoke detectors in post-standards manufactured homes; and research on specific types of fire causes. Appendixes contain 20 tables and procedures for estimating the size and characteristics of the manufactured-home fire problem.