USFA Smoking Fire Report-15,000 fires EVERY YEAR!

[GeorgeWendtCFI]

USFA Releases Residential Smoking Fires and Casualties Report
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In 2002 alone, lighted tobacco products caused an estimated 14,450 residential fires, 520 civilian deaths, 1,330 injuries, and $371 million in residential property damage, according to a new report issued today by the Federal Emergency Management Agency's U.S. Fire Administration. Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response and head of FEMA said the report shows that smokers need to be more attentive.

"Each year, smoking fires generally result in the highest fatality rate and are among the highest injury rates for residential fires," Brown said. "Smoking fires account for a large number of preventable fires and injuries. Simply by being more attentive to the use of smoking materials, this nation could take a major step in preventing these types of fires and stop the needless deaths and injuries."

The report, Residential Smoking Fires and Casualties, was developed by the National Fire Data Center, part of FEMA's U.S. Fire Administration, and is based on data from the 2002 National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). The report summarizes the characteristics of smoking fires, with an emphasis on the casualties associated with these fires. Forty percent of all smoking fires start in the bedroom or living room/family room areas of the home. In 35% of smoking fires, upholstered furniture, mattresses, pillows, or bedding were the items first ignited.

"Many smoking fires originate in the bedroom late at night when victims are sleeping," said U.S. Fire Administrator R. David Paulison. "While it is important to take extra precautions to be sure that smoking materials are properly extinguished before falling asleep, it is absolutely critical that all homes are protected by working smoke alarms."

A copy of the full report can be downloaded from: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/statistics/...pubs/tfrs.shtm

[Halligan84]

I wonder how those numbers relate to Firefighter LODD, what percentage. George, do they link smoking with other factors? In my experience, most fatals I have been on involved intoxication, smoking and no operable smoke detector.

[GeorgeWendtCFI]

I think I already posted a link to a report on smoke detectors. Also, there is a great report on Frie Deaths and Alcohol published by the USFA. I don't have time now, but I will research it later.

[LaFireEducator]

This report makes the case even furthur for the fire service to push and push hard for the Self-Extingushing cigarettte in all states. Currently they are required in New York, Vermont and 1 or 2 other states. Obviously this will make a difference there ... it would be intresting to see the data from those states 2-3 years down the line.

This is something the fire service should aggressivly get behind, as this would truly make a dent in the fire problem. I am hoping that all the career and volunteer fire service organizations will get thier act together and push the fire-safe cigarettes together as a unified voice on a state by state level.

[Diane E]

George, you beat me to it...

I believe I posted about HR 1850 (S 389) once before, too -- the Cigarette Fire Safety Act. NY has a fire safe cigarette law as does VT and Canada -- no reason why the rest of the county can't. While it probably won't save everyone, I'm sure it will drastically reduce injuries and deaths (esp. when combined with working smoke detectors and/or sprinklers[HR 1131]).

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h1850:

There's also a Serta mattress that's made with FireBlocker:

http://www.serta.com/pages/fireblocker.html

There was a "test" like the one on the website done this past Monday at the Delaware County (PA) Fire Training Center. Amazingly, it did get local press throughout the week...

[Co11FireGal]

Originally posted by GeorgeWendtCFI
Also, there is a great report on Frie Deaths and Alcohol published by the USFA. I don't have time now, but I will research it later.

That is a good one...I used some of the statistics for a speech class a couple semesters ago, trying to encourage college students to drink less...doubt it worked.

From the USFA report, Establishing a Relationship Between Alcohol and Casualties of Fire:

Nationally, fire-reporting agencies have identified smoking as the fifth most
frequent cause of residential fires, the leading cause of fire fatalities, and the second most
common cause of fire-related injuries. Smoking combined with alcohol use creates an
even greater risk for fire injuries and fatalities, as evidence suggests that the two exert a
synergistic effect on each other.

Studies have also shown that smokers are more inclined to engage in risk-taking
behavior and are more commonly involved in accidents. Researchers have concluded that
binge drinking (as well as other specific risk-related behaviors) was correlated to smoking
among the youth in the United States. Many of the various risk factors for injuries in
general, including fire injuries, are inter-related and magnify the effects of the other.

A relatively new phenomenon of “social drinking” has been identified by
researchers that may, in turn, lead to alcohol-related fire fatalities. Social smoking is a
trend identified in the college age population where the individual smokes only when in
specific social situations. These situations include parties and bars. Additional research has linked social smoking to binge drinking and severe alcohol intoxication. The link
between smoking and fire has been well established through fire data analyses. The
effects of alcohol consumption would likely lead to an inattentiveness to lit cigarettes
and, potentially, to fire. Social smoking may become a significant link between alcohol
abuse and fire.

Researchers from the University of Chicago Department of Psychiatry concluded
that smokers consume more alcohol than do non-smokers, heavy drinking tends to be
associated with heavy smoking, and a large majority of alcoholics, characterized by heavy
drinking, are smokers. Another study reviewing people aged 40 to 49 years who
received check-ups from 1979 to 1985, found alcohol use to be strongly associated with
the number of cigarettes smoked per day. Alcohol and smoking represent independent
fire safety risk factors. Alcohol intoxication leaves the drinker bereft of control and
mental acuity. Smoking has been associated with the ignition of many fires in which the
smoker is intimately involved, a factor that significantly contributes to the severity of
smoking fire-related injuries and deaths. When used together, alcohol and smoking
increase one’s chance of starting a fire while at the same time decrease the chances of
detecting, mitigating, and escaping the fire.

Interviews from households in King County, Washington that had sustained a fire-related
injury or fatality were conducted in an effort to identify the risk of fire injury in
relation to the incidence of smoking and alcohol use. Using a control group of
households that had not experienced a fire emergency, researchers concluded that
households with alcohol drinkers who consumed 6 or more drinks per occasion increased
their risk for burn injury by 8 times. Further analysis revealed that households with
higher drinking levels were associated with higher smoking levels as well. Heavy or binge drinking was identified as a predictor for fires and burn injuries, and when coupled
with smoking, appeared to be even more of a significant factor.

[Diane E]

Co11 -- you need to contact the Campus Firewatch folks -- a world of information that could help you:

http://www.campus-firewatch.com/index.html

There are also alcohol related sites at this link:

http://www.campus-firewatch.com/reso...x.html#alcohol