- Author
- Ahrens, M.
- Title
- Home Fires That Began With Mattresses and Bedding.
- Coporate
- National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA
- Report
- NFPA No. USS723, August 2008, 60 p.
- Keywords
- fire statistics | home fires | mattresses | bedding | fire losses | smoking | ignition | NFIRS | lighters | candles | matches | lighting equipment | heat sources
- Identifiers
- fires started by smoking materials vs. lighters, candles and matches; smoke alarms and home mattress and bedding fires overall; electrical distribution and lighting equipment; heating equipment
- 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 during 2002-2005, a mattress or bedding was the item first ignited in an average of 11,520 reported home structure fires per year. These fires caused an estimated annual average of 378 civilian deaths, 1,386 civilian injuries, and $357 million in direct property damage. One-fifth of these fires were started by someone playing with fire; another fifth were started by smoking materials. Mattresses and bedding ranked second among items first ignited in home fire deaths. Almost half (44%) of these deaths resulted from fires started by smoking materials. This analysis of the circumstances of home structure fires that began with mattresses and bedding includes trend data, causal factors, and a comparison of mattress and bedding fires started by smoking materials vs. fires started by candles, matches or lighters. Previously published incident descriptions are included in an Appendix.