The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has just released new statistics on the number of deaths that occur as a result of house fires each day, and the numbers are very alarming. The new report shows that each day in the United States, an average of seven people die as a result of a fire in a home. The report is based on data from the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) National Fire Incident Reporting System and the NFPA’s annual fire department experience survey.
The report also estimates that an average of 336,000 home structure fires required assistance from U.S. fire departments, from 2007 to 2011. While seven people died on average each day during the reported time period, the results show that older people were the most likely age group to die as the result of a house fire.
During the five year period covered by the new report, on average, one in every 320 homes reported a house fire; on a yearly basis, house fires were responsible for 2,570 resident and civilian deaths, 13,120 civilian injuries and over seven billion dollars in direct property damage.
The report also names cooking equipment as the primary contributing factor in damage because of fires and injuries, but smoke is the key reason that death occurs as a result of a house fire.
One quarter of all house fires were reportedly the result of issues occurring in the bedrooms of a home and sixteen percent of house fires originated in the kitchen, according to the NFPA report. Additionally, most house fires that resulted in death occurred because of incidents taking place between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.
One of the most attention-grabbing aspects of the report regards smoke alarms and their role in deaths related to house fires. Sixty percent of all homes that experienced a fire either didn’t have a smoke alarm at all, or had smoke alarms that weren’t operational. Thirty-seven percent of fires that resulted in a death occurred in homes without functioning smoke alarms. This equates to three out of five deaths occurring in homes without working smoke alarm equipment present.
The Vice President of Communications for the NFPA commented on the eye-opening report, saying the statistics further emphasize the importance of installing and maintaining smoke alarms in order to protect one’s home and family.
Additionally, the spokesperson for the NFPA pointed out that smoke alarms are particularly effective in preventing injury, death and damage when used in conjunction with sprinklersystems, which were present in only six percent of house fires that occurred between 2006 and 2010.
The NFPA recommends a number of ways to prevent house fires from occurring including discontinuing use of space heaters, frequently inspecting electrical cords and keeping fire-starting devices out of the reach of children. In addition to taking these precautions, the NFPA recommends all individuals install smoke alarm equipment and ensure that the equipment is always functioning properly. Most home alarm and security companies offer the addition of smoke alarm monitoring equipment with their packages and services.
Tim Eveler
Author & Public Relations – Tim has been working in sales for the home security system industry over twelve years. He’s held positions at large home security companies and in charge of working with the team to create our security system reviews.