You should be practicing fire safety every day, but because October is Fire Prevention Month, it’s a good time to be reminded of the importance of keeping your home and family safe.
- The U.S. Fire Administration reports that fires kill more than 4,000 Americans each year and injure approximately 20,000 more.
- U.S. fire departments respond to nearly 2 million fires each year, with three-quarters of them occurring in residences.
- Home fire safety starts with ensuring you have working smoke detectors. Check them frequently and replace them if they are more than 10 years old.
- Children under the age of five are twice as likely to die in a home fire than the rest of the population.
- About 300 people per year are killed and $280 million in property is destroyed in fires attributed to children playing with fire.
- Just over half of fires attributed to children playing with fire in the home start in a bedroom, and bedding material is most often the first item ignited.
- About two out of every three fires attributed to children playing with fire – and three out of every four associated deaths and injuries – involve matches or lighters. Children also start fires by playing with candles, fireworks, stoves, and cigarettes.
- Only 26 percent of families have actually developed and practiced a home fire escape plan.
