Fire Prevention and Awareness

Home Safety

Click on Topic to Learn More
 

Where Fires Occur	What Saves Lives	Carbon monoxide (CO)
Causes of Fire and Death	Fire Safety in Your Home	Home Safety Checklist
Who is Most at Risk	Candle Safety	Links to Home Safety

 

Where Fires Occur

There were 1,755,000 fires in the United States in 1998. Of these: 1. 41% were Outside Fires 2. 29% were Structure Fires 3. 22% were Vehicle Fires 4. 8 % were fires of other types Residential fires represent 22% of all fires and 74% of structure fires.  Fires in 1-2 family dwellings most often start in the: 1.Kitchen 23.5% 2.Bedroom 12.7% 3.Living Room 7.9% 4.Chimney 7.1 5.Laundry Area 4.7%   Apartment fires most often start in the: 1.Kitchen 46.1% 2.Bedroom 12.3% 3.Living Room 6.2% 4.Laundry Area 3.3% 5.Bathroom 2.4% The South has the highest fire death rate per capita with 18.4 civilian deaths per million population. 80% of all fatalities occur in the home. Of those, approximately 85% occur in single family homes and duplexes.

Top
 

Causes of Fires and Fire Deaths

Cooking is the leading cause of home fires in the U.S. It is also the leading cause of home fire injuries. Cooking fires often result from unattended cooking and human error, rather than mechanical failure of stoves or ovens. Careless smoking is the leading cause of fire deaths.  Smoke alarms and smolder resistant bedding and upholstered furniture are significant fire deterrents. Heating is the second leading cause of residential fires and the second leading cause of fire deaths. However, heating fires are a larger problem in single family homes than in apartments. Unlike apartments, the heating systems in single family homes are often not professionally maintained. Arson is both the third leading cause of residential fires and residential fire deaths. In commercial properties, arson is the major cause of deaths, injuries and dollar loss.

Top
 

Who is Most at Risk

Senior citizens age 70 + and children under the age of 5 have the greatest risk of fire death. The fire death risk among seniors is more than double the average population. The fire death risk for children under age 5 is nearly double the risk of the average population. Children under the age of 10 accounted for an estimated 17 percent of all fire deaths in 1996.  Men die or are injured in fires almost twice as often as women. African Americans and American Indians have significantly higher death rates per capita than the national average. Although African Americans comprise 13 percent of the population, they account for 26 percent of fire deaths.

Top
 

What Saves Lives

A working smoke alarm dramatically increases a person's chance of surviving a fire. Approximately 88 percent of U.S. homes have at least one smoke alarm. However, these alarms are not always properly maintained and as a result might not work in an emergency. There has been a disturbing increase over the last ten years in the number of fires that occur in homes with non-functioning alarms.  It is estimated that over 40 percent of residential fires and three fifths of residential fatalities occur in homes with no smoke alarms. Residential sprinklers have become more cost effective for homes today. Currently, few homes are protected by them.

Top
 

Home Safety Checklist

Here is a checklist you can down load or print.  It requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click here for checklist

Top
 

Candle Safety

This Little Light of Mine…  Nothing sets the mood easier than a nice bright candle. Be it for romance, birthday parties, holiday celebrations or for every-day use, everyone has candles in their home. There is nothing nicer than walking into a house filled with the aroma of burning candles, unless you're a firefighter.  In a four year period firefighters across the United States responded to 6,780 house fires caused by candles. 81 people lost their lives and 731 people were injured in these fires. These fires occurred in almost every room throughout the house. You can reduce these fires by placing candles in an open, uncluttered area. There shouldn't be anything above the candle. Never leave a child unattended in a room with candles or accessible matches and lighters. Never leave the house or go to sleep with candles lit. Most importantly ensure smoke detectors are up to date, tested and in good working order.

Top
 

Carbon monoxide (CO)

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless, deadly gas. It can kill you before you know it because you can't see it, taste it or smell it. At lower levels of exposure, it can cause health problems. Some people may be more vulnerable to CO poisoning such as fetuses, infants, children, senior citizens, those with heart or lung problems and other chronic illnesses. When an individual breathes in CO, it accumulates in the blood and forms a toxic compound known as carboxyhemoglobin (COHb). Hemoglobin carries oxygen in the bloodstream to cells and tissues. Carbon monoxide attaches itself to hemoglobin and displaces the oxygen that the body organs need.  Carboxyhemoglobin can cause headaches, fatigue, nausea, dizzy spells, confusion and irritability. Later stages of CO poisoning can cause vomiting, loss of consciousness and eventually brain damage or death. Carbon monoxide is a by-product of combustion of fossil fuels. Fumes from automobiles contain high levels of CO. Appliances such as gas furnaces, space heaters, clothes dryers, ranges, ovens, water heaters, charcoal grills, fireplaces and wood burning stoves produce CO. Carbon monoxide usually is vented to the outside if appliances function correctly and the home is vented properly. Problems occur when furnace heat exchangers crack or vents and chimneys become blocked. Insulation sometimes can trap CO in the home. The Consumer Product Safety Commission recommend installing at least one carbon monoxide detector with an audible alarm near the bedrooms. If a home has more than one story, a detector should be placed on each story. Be sure the detector has a testing laboratory label. The following is a checklist for where to look for problem sources of CO in the home: 1. A forced air furnace is frequently the source of leaks and should be carefully inspected. Measure the concentration of carbon monoxide in the flue gases.  Check furnace connections to flue pipes and venting systems to the outside of the home for signs of corrosion, rust gaps, holes.  Check furnace filters and filtering systems for dirt and blockage.  Check forced air fans for proper installation and to assure correct airflow of flue gases. Improper furnace blower installation can result in carbon monoxide build-up because toxic gas is blown into rather than out of the house.  Check the combustion chamber and internal heat exchanger for cracks, holes, metal fatigue or corrosion. Be sure they are clean and free of debris.  Check burners and ignition system. A flame that is mostly yellow in color in natural gas fired furnaces is often a sign that the fuel is not burning completely and higher levels of carbon monoxide are being released. Oil furnaces with similar problems can give off an oily odor. Remember you can't smell carbon monoxide.  2. Check all venting systems to the outside including flues and chimneys for cracks, corrosion, holes, debris, blockages. Animals and birds can build nests in chimneys preventing gases from escaping.  3. Check all other appliances in the home that use flammable fuels such as natural gas, oil, propane, wood or kerosene. Appliances include water heaters, clothes dryers, kitchen ranges, ovens or cook tops: wood burning stoves, and gas refrigerators.  Pilot lights can be a source of carbon monoxide because the by-products of combustion are released inside the home rather than vented outside.  Be sure space heaters are vented properly. nonvented space heaters that use a flammable fuel such as kerosene can release carbon monoxide into the home.  Barbecue grills should never be operated indoors under any circumstances nor should stovetops or ovens that operate on flammable fuels be used to heat a residence.  Check fireplaces for closed, blocked or bent flues, soot and debris.  Check the clothes dryer vent opening outside the house for lint.  If you feel you are having any problems with CO, you should contact a qualified contractor to evaluate the problem and make the necessary repairs. If occupants of the home are experiencing symptoms of headache, nausea, fatigue, dizzy spells, confusion, or irritability, you should call 911 immediately. This is especially true if there are multiple occupants with these symptoms. Top of Sheet

Top
 

Practice Fire Safety in Your Home

Supervise young children closely. Do not leave them alone even for short periods of time. Keep matches and lighters in a secured drawer or cabinet. Have your children tell you when they find matches and lighters. Check under beds and in closets for burned matches, evidence your child may be playing with fire. Develop a home fire escape plan, practice it with your children and designate a meeting place outside. Take the mystery out of fire play by teaching children that fire is a tool, not a toy. Teach children the nature of fire. It is FAST, HOT, DARK and DEADLY! Teach children not to hide from firefighters, but to get out quickly and call for help from another location. Show children how to crawl low on the floor, below the smoke, to get out of the house and stay out in the case of fire. Demonstrate how to stop, drop to the ground and roll if their clothes catch fire. Install smoke alarms on every level in your home. Familiarize children with the sound of your smoke alarm. Test the smoke alarm each month and replace the battery at least once a year. Replace the smoke alarm every ten years, or as recommended by the manufacturer. Top of Sheet

Top
 

Links to Home Safety

How to inventory and document your possessions

Fire Escape Systems

Top

This site assembled by S. Todd LeBlanc for
Milton Volunteer Fire Department
(web site coming soon)
Last updated July 11, 2001