Did You Know...

Did You Know...

Per capita, the U.S. has one of the highest fire death rates in the industrialized world. Approximately 4,700 people die in fires in this country annually, and over 30,000 people are injured.
Approximately 100 firefighters die each year in duty-related incidents.
Each year, fire usually kills more Americans than all natural disasters combined.
Fire is the third leading cause of accidental death in the home; at least 80 percent of all fire deaths occur in residences.
More than 2 million fires are reported each year; many others go unreported, causing additional injuries and property loss.
Direct property loss due to fires is estimated at over $8.1 billion annually.
Senior citizens are at the highest risk of being killed in a fire -- more than double the average population.
People under the age of 19 account for 25 percent of the annual fire deaths.
Children under age five are at serious risk of being killed in a fire -- nearly double the average population.
About 25 percent of the fires that kill young children are started by that child or other children playing with fire.
Men die or are injured in fires nearly twice as often as women.
The South has the highest fire death rate per-capita. Nearly 80 percent of all fatalities occur in the home.
Of those, approximately 80 percent occur in single-family homes and duplexes.
At least 640 fire deaths occur in apartments each year.
About 40 people die in hotel/motel fires annually, with careless smoking as the leading cause of these deaths.
Careless smoking is the leading cause of residential fire deaths.
Smoke detectors and smolder-resistant bedding and upholstered furniture are significant fire deterrents.
Arson is the second leading cause of residential fires and residential fire deaths. In commercial properties, arson is the major cause of deaths, injuries and dollar loss.
Alternative heaters are the third leading cause of residential fire deaths. Heater fires are the leading cause of fire deaths in the southeastern U.S., whereas wood stoves are a serious problem in the northern United States, cooking is the leading cause of apartment fires and the second most frequent cause of single family residential fires. These fires often result from unattended cooking and human error, rather than mechanical failures of stoves or ovens.
The percentage breakdown of where fire originates in a home are as follows: Kitchen 29%, Bedroom 13%, Living Room/Den 8%, Furnaces & Chimney 8%, Laundry Area 4%.
A working smoke detector doubles a person's chance of surviving a fire.
Approximately 90 percent of U.S. homes have at least one smoke detector.
Nearly half the residential fires and three fifths of the residential fatalities occur in homes with no smoke detectors.
Residential sprinklers have become more cost effective and can usually be installed for $.75 to $1.50 per square foot.