- Author
- Benjamin, I. A.
- Title
- Influence of Fire-Resistant Design on Survival.
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC
- Book or Conf
- IIT Research Institute. Designing to Survive Disaster. Conference. November 6-8, 1973, Chicago, IL, 263-282 p., 1973
- Keywords
- disasters | survival | fire statistics | ignition | fire spread | building design | containment | smoke | evacuation | fire safety | rehabilitation
- Identifiers
- information on the most common origins of fires
- Abstract
- Every day some 170 Americans are killed or left permanently disfigured by fire. Property loss from fire each year is over $2 billion. Appallingly, the U.S. has the highest rate of fire deaths among the industrialized countries of the world. Probably the most serious consequence of fire is the burn injury. Many physicians have characterized a major burn as the most traumatic attack on the hyman system known to them. In addition to being one of the most difficult and complex types of injuries to manage medically, burns have dep-seated psychological ramifications affecting medical, physical, and social rehabilitation. Medical costs are extremely high for severe burn injuries due to long initial period of hospitalization, followed by a series of readmissions for plastic and reconstructive surgery. In all, about 260,000 persons are injured each year by burns from fires and explosions.