Fire Safety

Where, When and How

• Children playing with fire account for 4 percent of home fires. These fires cause 40 percent of home fire related deaths among children under age 5.
• Nearly 40 percent of home fires and more than 50 percent of all home fire-related deaths occur in the 6 percent of houses without smoke alarms.
• During the cold-weather months of December through March, home fires and home fire-related deaths are more likely to occur.
• Smoking materials (e.g., cigarettes) are the leading cause of fire-related death and
  of fire-related injury in homes.
• Home cooking equipment is the leading cause of injuries in residential fires.

Who

• Children under 5 years of age are at the greatest risk from home fire death and injury; their death rate is
  nearly twice the national average.
• Children living in rural areas have a dramatically higher risk of dying in a residential fire. Death rates in rural communities are more than twice the rates in large cities and more than three times higher than rates
  in large towns and small cities.
• Black children are more than three times as likely as white children to die in a fire.
  Male children have a slightly higher risk for fire-related deaths than females, with 57 percent of deaths occurring to boys 14 and under.

Proven Interventions

• On average, a $33 smoke alarm generates $940 in benefits to society.
• Smoke alarms and sprinkler systems combined could reduce fire-related deaths by 82 percent and injuries by 46 percent.

Costs

• Each year in the United States, $280 million in property is destroyed by children playing with fire.
• The total annual cost of fire- and burn-related deaths among children ages 14 and under is more than $2.6 billion. Children ages 4 and under account for more than $1.4 billion of these costs.

Laws and Regulations

• Many states and the District of Columbia have laws requiring the use of smoke alarms in new and existing homes. A few states still have no comprehensive smoke alarm laws. Other states have a variety of laws covering specific situations such as new dwellings or multi-occupancy dwellings only.
• In 1994, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a mandatory safety standard requiring disposable and novelty cigarette lighters to be child-resistant. Since this has been in effect, the number of deaths and injuries associated with these fires has declined by 31 percent and 26 percent, respectively.
• To protect children from burns, the CPSC issued regulations requiring that children’s sleepwear must be flame-resistant and self-extinguish if a flame causes it to catch fire. The rules cover all children’s sleepwear above size 9 months and up to size 14. Children’s sleepwear must be either flame-resistant or be snug-fitting.