Safety Links, Tips & Documents

Heating Fire Safety

Each winter the high cost of home heating fuels and utilities causes many Americans to search for alternate sources of home heating. The use of wood burning stoves is growing and space heaters are selling rapidly. Fireplaces are burning wood and man-made logs. All these methods of heating may be acceptable. They are however, a major contributing factor in home fires.

Many of these fires can be prevented. You can prevent the loss of life and property resulting from heating fires by being able to identify potential hazards and following a few safety tips:

All heaters need space. Keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet away from heating equipment.

Use heating equipment that has the label of a recognized testing laboratory.

Make sure all fuel-burning heating equipment is vented to the outside to avoid carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.

Only purchase portable space heaters with an automatic shut-off so if they’re tipped over they will shut off.

Allow wood stove and fireplace ashes to cool before disposing of them in a tightly covered metal container. Keep the container at least 10 feet away from your home.

(Heating Fire Safety | Article from USFA)

Fire Facts (United States)

The U.S. has one of the highest fire related fatality rates in the industrialized world. In 1997, the U.S. fire death rate was 15.2 deaths per million population.

Between 1993 and 1997, an average of 4,500 Americans lost their lives and another 26,500 were injured each year as the result of fire.

About 100 firefighters are killed each year in duty-related incidents.

Each year, fires kill 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.

About 2 million fires are reported each year; many others go unreported, causing untold additional injuries and property loss.

Direct property loss due to fires is estimated at $8.5 billion annually.
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Where Fires Occur
There were 1,795,000 fires in the United States in 1997. Of these:

40% were Outside Fires
31% were Structure Fires
22% were Vehicle Fires
7% were fires of other types
Residential fires represent 23 percent of all fires and 74 percent of structure fires.
Fires in the home most often start in the:

Kitchen 29%
Bedroom 13%
Living Room 7%
Chimney 5%
Laundry Area 4%

The South and Northeast share the highest rate of civilian fatalities per-capita, with 17.5 deaths per million. 84 percent of all fatalities occur in the home...of those, approximately 80 percent occur in single-family homes and duplexes.

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Causes of Fires and Fire Related Fatalities
Cooking is the leading cause of home fires in the U.S. It is also the leading cause of fire injuries. These 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 fatalities. Smoke alarms and smolder-resistant bedding and upholstered furniture are significant fire deterrents.

Heating is the second leading cause of residential fires and ties with arson as the second leading cause of fire deaths. Heating fires, however, 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 the third leading cause of residential fires and the second leading cause of residential fire deaths. In commercial properties, arson is the major cause of deaths, injuries, and dollar loss.

Who is Most at Risk?
Senior citizens and children under the age of five have the greatest risk of perishing in a fire.

The risk among seniors is more than double the average population.

The risk for children under age five is nearly double the risk of the average population.

Children under the age of ten accounted for an estimated 18 percent of all fire deaths in 1995.

Over 30 percent of the fires that kill young children are started by children playing with fire.

Men die or are injured in fires twice as often as women.

What Saves Lives
A working smoke alarm dramatically increases a person's chance of surviving a fire.

Approximately 90 percent of U.S. homes have at least one smoke alarm. These alarms, however, 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 working smoke alarms.

Residential sprinklers have become more cost effective for homes. Currently, few homes are protected by them.

Life Safety Initiatives

This website is dedicated to information and research all directly supporting the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives. It should be the starting point for anyone, particularly fire service researchers, who require up-to-date and accurate information. This site updates the bibliographic material which Everyone Goes Home® has maintained for many years on its website. http://www.lifesafetyinitiatives.com/

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