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Author
Zdep, S. M. | Kilkenny, M. J. | McGowan, J.
Title
National Sample Survey of Unreported Residential Fires, 1984. Final Technical Report.
Coporate
Audits & Surveys, Princeton, NJ
Sponsor
Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC
Report
Final Technical Report
June 13, 1985
104 p.
Contract
C-83-1239
Keywords
building fires | residential buildings
Abstract
This research was designed to gather data on the extent and nature of unreported, residential fires in the U.S. Data on reported fires are currently gathered annually among a sample of fire departments by the National Fire Protection Association and among states participating in the U.S. Fire Administration's National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). A systematic attempt to gather data on unreported fires, however, has not been made since 1974. Since widespread use of residential fire/smoke detectors has occurred in recent years, it was considered important to determine if a corresponding increase in the number of unreported fires has also occurred, possibly due to early detection, thereby enabling household members to extinguish residential fires without outside assistance.