Stories of home structure fires and even home fire deaths are all too common in the news. From 2015 to 2019, US fire departments responded to an estimated average of 346,800 home structure fires per year. These fires caused an annual average of 2,620 civilian deaths; 11,070 civilian fire injuries; and $7.3 billion in direct property damage. Roughly three-quarters of civilian fire deaths and injuries were caused by home fires.
Homes are much less regulated than most occupancies. We need to understand how these fires happen and how they can be prevented or mitigated. And we need to make prevention a priority.
Reported home fires peaked from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., when many people are coming home from work, preparing dinner, or engaging in other household activities. Only one-fifth of the fires were reported between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. (19 percent), but these fires caused half of the home fire deaths (49 percent). Read More…
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