New York City officials said they saw a reduction in large scale fires last year and recorded the lowest number of fire deaths in 100 years.
There were 48 fire deaths in 2016, a 19 percent decline from the previous year.
Electrical fires were cited in 14 deaths, the largest cause of death in 2016. Smoking claimed 12 and cooking-related fire took 11 lives.
The deadliest year in New York City was 1970 when 310 people perished in fires.
The number of fires across the city also dropped.
The city reports that there were 2,313 serious fires, requiring a one-alarm assignment or greater, in 2016 compared to 2,545 in 2015.
“We pushed ourselves to save even more lives in 2016 – embarking on a life-saving citywide smoke alarm program that has reached tens of thousands of homes – and we’ve seen the outstanding results with a historic 100-year low for fire fatalities in our city,” said FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro in a statement. “I’m very proud of all our fire and EMS members who worked hard this year to achieve this historic milestone.”
The city created a life safety effort called GetAlarmedNYC in late 2015.
After one year, officials say 113,000 combination smoke/carbon monoxide were installed across the city.
“Never has our city been as safe from the ravages of fire as we are today, thanks to the heroic work of our firefighters and all FDNY personnel,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “This record-breaking, historic achievement is the result of true teamwork by our fire and EMS first responders, fire marshals and dispatchers, as well as inspectors and fire safety educators who helped reduce serious fires by nine percent this year.”
