- Author
- Ahrens, M.
- Title
- Home Candle Fires.
- Coporate
- National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA
- Report
- NFPA No. PKG34, September 2007, 77 p.
- Keywords
- candles | fire statistics | home fires | NFIRS | fire departments | surveys | heat sources | structures | death | injuries | fire fatalities | damage | costs | standards | fire safety
- Identifiers
- home candle fires fact sheet; home candle fires continue to fall; detailed patterns of home candle fires; who are the victims of home candle fires?; when do candle fires occur?; candles fires by occupancy; candles used for light; CPSC's candle fire pilot study, NEISS candle data and recalls; Massachusetts candle study sought more detaile information; ASTM's candle-related standards
- Abstract
- Based on data from the U.S. Fire Administration's (USFA's) National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) and the National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA's) annual fire department experience survey, NFPA estimates that candles were the heat source in an estimated 15,600 reported home structure fires per year in 2005. (Homes include one- and two-family dwellings, apartments or other multiple family dwellings, and manufactured housing.) These fires caused an estimated average of 150 civilian deaths, 1,270 civilian injuries and $539 million in direct property damage. Although the number of candle fires peaked in 2001 and as been falling since, the 2005 figure was still more than twice as high as in 1990. Roughly two-fifths (38%) of home candle fires started in the bedroom. More than half (55%) of these fires occurred because the candle was too close to something that could burn. Candles used for light appear to pose a greater risk of fatal fire. In 2006, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) deferred action on a petition from the National Association of State Fire Marshals for mandatory standards for candles and candle accessories to allow more time for ASTM to develop voluntary standards and the effectiveness of the standards to be evaluated.