- Author
- U.S. Fire Administration | National Fire Data Center
- Title
- Fatal Fires.
- Coporate
- U.S. Fire Administration, Washington, DC National Fire Data Center, Washington, DC
- Journal
- Topical Fire Research Series, Vol. 5, No. 1, 1-6, March 2005
- Keywords
- fire statistics | fire fatalities | fire data
- Identifiers
- loss measures in fatal and nonfatal fires; where fatal fires occur; causes of fatal fires; where fatal residential structure fires start; when fatal fires occur; smoke alarm performance; profile of fatalities
- Abstract
- Findings: **An estimated 3,300 fatal fires claimed the lives of 3,380 civilians: 86% involved a single fatality, 10% involved two fatalities, and 4% involved three or more fatalities. **Injuries were 32 times as great and property losses were 8 times as great in fatal fires as in nonfatal fires. **74% of fatal fires occurred in structures, 94% of these on residential properties. **94% of fatal fires occurred either in structures or in cars. **The leading cause of fires that resulted in fatalities was arson (27%), followed by smoking (18%). **The leading areas of fire origin in fatal residential structure fires were sleeping (29%) and lounge (21%) areas. **Fatal fires were most common in the winter. **Smoke alarms either were not present in 42% of residential fatal fires or alarms were present but did not operate in 21% of residential fatal fires. **65% of deaths were males; 23% were older adults (over 64); 14% were children under 10. Of the nearly 1.7 million estimated fires reported annually to fire departments in 2002, an estimated 3,300 claimed the lives of 3,380 civilians. These fatal fires also injured 1,100 civilians and caused more than $159 million in property damage.1 2 Of the fatal fires reported in 2002, 86% involved a single fatality, and 10% involved two fatalities. The remaining 4% of fatal fires involved between three and eight fatalities. This report summarizes some of the major characteristics of these fatal fires, with an emphasis on fatal fires in residential structures.