City of Logansport, Indiana

This information was obtained from the Federal Emergency Managemnt Agency's (FEMA) website. For more on fire safety and education please check out their site.

There were 1,755,000 fires in the United States in 1998. Of these:

 

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.

 

Senior citizens age 70 and over 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.

 

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. Currently, few homes are protected by them.