Fire Deaths and Injuries: Fact Sheet
Overview
|
Although the number of fatalities and injuries caused by residential fires has declined gradually over the past several decades, many residential fire-related deaths remain preventable and continue to pose a significant public health problem.
Occurrence and Consequences
-
On average in the United States in 2006, someone died in a fire about every 162 minutes, and someone was injured every 32 minutes (Karter 2007).
-
Four out of five U.S. fire deaths in 2005 occurred in homes (Karter 2007).
-
In 2006, fire departments responded to 412,500 home fires in the United States, which claimed the lives of 2,580 people (not including firefighters) and injured another 12,925, not including firefighters (Karter 2007).
-
Most victims of fires die from smoke or toxic gases and not from burns (Hall 2001).
-
Smoking is the leading cause of fire-related deaths (Ahrens 2003).
-
Cooking is the primary cause of residential fires (Ahrens 2003).
Costs
-
In 2005, residential fires caused nearly $7 billion in property damage (Karter 2007).
-
Fire and burn injuries represent 1% of the incidence of injuries and 2% of the total costs of injuries, or $7.5 billion each year (Finkelstein et al. 2006).
-
Males account for $4.8 billion (64%) of the total costs of fire/burn injuries.
-
Females account for $2.7 billion (36%) of the total costs of fire/burn injuries.
-
Fatal fire and burn injuries cost $3 billion, representing 2% of the total costs of all fatal injuries.
-
Hospitalized fire and burn injuries total $1 billion, or 1% of the total cost of all hospitalized injuries.
-
Non-hospitalized fire and burn injuries cost $3 billion, or 2% of the total cost of all non-hospitalized injuries.
-
Groups at Risk
Groups at increased risk of fire-related injuries and deaths include:
-
Children 4 and under (CDC 1998);
-
Older Adults ages 65 and older (CDC 1998);
-
African Americans and Native Americans (CDC 1998);
-
The poorest Americans (Istre 2001);
-
Persons living in rural areas (Ahrens 2003);
-
Persons living in manufactured homes or substandard housing (Runyan 1992; Parker 1993).
Risk Factors
-
Approximately half of home fire deaths occur in homes without smoke alarms (Ahrens 2004).
-
Most residential fires occur during the winter months (CDC 1998).
-
Alcohol use contributes to an estimated 40% of residential fire deaths (Smith 1999).
Ahrens M. The U.S. fire problem overview report: leading causes and other patterns and trends. Quincy (MA): National Fire Protection Association; 2003.
Ahrens M. U.S. experience with smoke alarms and other fire alarms. Quincy (MA): National Fire Protection Association; 2004.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Deaths resulting from residential fires and the prevalence of smoke alarms - United States 1991–1995. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 1998; 47(38): 803–6.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). National vital statistics system. Hyattsville (MD): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, National Center for Health Statistics; 1998.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [Online]. (2005). National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (producer). Available from: URL: www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars. [Cited 2006 Aug 21].
Finkelstein EA, Corso PS, Miller TR, Associates. Incidence and Economic Burden of Injuries in the United States. New York: Oxford University Press; 2006.
Hall JR. Burns, toxic gases, and other hazards associated with fires: Deaths and injuries in fire and non-fire situations. Quincy (MA): National Fire Protection Association, Fire Analysis and Research Division; 2001.
International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics. World fire statistics: information bulletin of the world fire statistics. Geneva (Switzerland): The Geneva Association; 2003.
Istre GR, McCoy MA, Osborn L, Barnard JJ, Bolton A. Deaths and injuries from house fires. New England Journal of Medicine 2001;344:1911–16.
Karter MJ. Fire loss in the United States during 2006,. Quincy (MA): National Fire Protection Association, Fire Analysis and Research Division; 2007.
Parker DJ, Sklar DP, Tandberg D, Hauswald M, Zumwalt RE. Fire fatalities among New Mexico children. Annals of Emergency Medicine 1993;22(3):517–22.
Runyan CW, Bangdiwala SI, Linzer MA, Sacks JJ, Butts J. Risk factors for fatal residential fires. New England Journal of Medicine 1992;327(12):859–63.
Runyan SW, Casteel C (Eds.). The state of home safety in America: Facts about unintentional injuries in the home, 2nd edition. Washington, D.C.: Home Safety Council, 2004.
Smith GS, Branas C, Miller TR. Fatal nontraffic injuries involving alcohol: a meta-analysis. Annals of Emergency Medicine 1999;33(6):659–68.
No comments:
Post a Comment