- Last year, there were 1,389,500 fires reported in the United States. More than 3000 civilians perished as a result of the fires, and there were 17,500 civilian injuries.
- Almost half a million of these fires occurred in a home or other structure, as well as 2640 of the deaths.
- In 2011, a structure fire was reported on average every 63 seconds across the U.S.-including home structure fires, which were reported every 85 seconds.
- Every two hours and 55 minutes, someone in our country died from a house fire.
- Cooking is the #1 cause of home fire.
- Nearly two-thirds of home fire deaths occurred in homes that did not have a working smoke detector.
- Smoking in the home is a leading cause of home fires.
- Over a four year period (2005-09) in the U.S, there were over 56,000 home fires caused by children playing with matches or fire
Stay Safe
Those are frightening stats, right? But the good news is that we can learn from these statistics and keep our families SAFE by educating ourselves. Here are a few fire safety tips to follow and share with your kids.
- Stay in the kitchen whenever you are cooking. If you have to leave the room for any reason, be sure to turn off your burners first.
- Keep kids away from burners, fireplaces, wood stoves, grills and other heating elements. A good rule of thumb is to have a "three-foot no kid zone" wherever you have an open flame.
- Never leave a candle burning unattended.
- Keep the area around space heaters and fireplaces clear of flammable items, including fabric, paper, wood, plastics and furniture.
- Use only properly insulated electrical cords, and throw away frayed cords and plugs.
- Address any irregular wiring issues in your home immediately with a qualified electrician. Never attempt to repair wiring unless you have been properly trained.
- Never smoke in bed or on any surface that could easily ignite by a stray ash.
- Dispose of all ashes and cigarette or cigar butts in an ashtray, and never flick ashes or toss butts on the ground.
- Install smoke detectors throughout your home, and change the batteries twice a year. Test them regularly to be sure they are in proper working order, and replace old smoke detectors, as they may no longer be sensitive enough to properly detect smoke.
- Create a fire evacuation plan, and discuss it with your children. Be sure to include a meeting place away from the home and an exit strategy for each room of the house. You should have two exits for every room in case one is blocked by fire.
- Teach your children to STOP, DROP AND ROLL in the event their clothing should ever catch fire.
- Discuss fire safety with your children, and explain to them the dangers of playing with matches or fire.
Have your children visit the kid-friendly National Fire Prevention Association site for more helpful information about preventing fires and staying safe.
