- Author
- U.S. Fire Administration | Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Title
- Residential Smoking Fires and Casualties.
- Coporate
- Federal Emergency Management Agency, Washington, DC
- Journal
- Topical Fire Research Series, Vol. 5, No. 5, 1-6, June 2005
- Keywords
- smoking | fire data | residential buildings | building fires | fire statistics | ignition | fire alarm systems | human factors engineering | smoke detectors
- Identifiers
- where smoking fires start; items first ignited; when smoking fires occur; property type; human factors contributing to smoking fires; smoke alarm performance
- Abstract
- Findings: * Only 4% of all residential fires were reportedly caused by smoking materials in 2002. These fires, however, were responsible for 19% of residential fire fatalities and 9% of injuries. * The fatality rate due to smoking is nearly four times higher than the overall residential fire rate; injuries are more than twice as likely. * Forty percent of all smoking fires start in the bedroom or living room/family room; in 35% of these fires, bedding or upholstered furniture are the items first ignited. * Smoking fire fatalities spike in the early morning hours when victims are asleep. * Smoke alarms operated in only 43% of fires in which a fatality occurred. This is of concern since more than 90% of all residences are equipped with smoke alarms. * Fire-safe cigarettes (self-extinguishing when not actively smoked) are becoming available, and they may soon be mandated by Congress or state legislatures.