- Author
- Flynn, J.
- Title
- U.S. Structure Fires in Nursing Homes.
- Coporate
- National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA
- Report
- NFPA No. PKG 33, September 2008, 126 p.
- Keywords
- nursing homes | structures | fire statistics | fire investigations | fire departments | death | injuries | costs | damage | NFIRS | cooking fires | mattresses | bedding | electric wires | insulation | electric cables
- Identifiers
- methodology and definitions used in 'leading cause' tables; previously published 'firewatch' incidents involving nursing homes; previously published catastrophic fires involving nursing homes
- Abstract
- In 2002-2005, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated average of 2,810 nursing home structure fires, annually. These fires caused an annual average of 16 civilian deaths, 130 civilian injuries, and $6.6 million in direct property damage. In this report, nursing home refers only to nursing homes licensed by the state, providing 24-hour nursing care for four or more persons. These estimates are based on data from the U.S. Fire Administration's (USFA) National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) and the National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA) annual fire department experience survey. More than half of the fires in these properties were caused by cooking, but fires that started with mattresses or bedding material or electrical wire or cable insulation caused a disproportionate share of the casualties and injuries.