Just The Facts

FACT SHEET
 
The American Red Cross responded to more than 74,000 disasters in communities across the United States last year and 93 percent of these were fire related.*
 
 
The American Red Cross is responding to 10 percent more home fires today than it was six years ago.*
 
Nationally, the number of home fires is on the rise with the number of fires increasing 8 percent since 2000. The average cost of a home fire in 2006 was more than $17,000.***
 
Eighty percent of Americans don’t realize that home fires are the single most common disaster across the nation.*
 
Only 26 percent of families have actually developed and practiced a home fire escape plan.*
 
Fires kill more Americans each year than all natural disasters combined, and affect people from all backgrounds and geographic locations.
 
In 2006, a home fire was reported every 80 seconds, and someone dies from a home fire every 204 minutes.***
 
Children under five and adults over 65 are more than twice as likely to die in a home fire than the rest of the US population.**
 
African Americans in this country are disproportionately affected by home fires, and account for 25 percent of all fire deaths while they represent less than 13 percent of the population.**
 
Cooking fires are the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries. And, two out of three cooking fires start with the range or stove.***
Heating fires are the second leading cause of home fires.**
 
Smoking is the leading cause of home fire deaths.***
 
In 2005, 74 percent of home fire deaths occurred in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.***
 
Sprinklers and smoke alarms together cut your risk of dying in a home fire 82% in relation to having neither.**
 
Each year over 200 people die from carbon monoxide produced by fuel burning appliances in the home including furnaces, ranges, water heaters and room heaters.***
 
High-rise fires are more injurious and cause more damage than all other structure fires. ***
Sources: American Red Cross,* U.S. Fire Administration,** and the National Fire Protection Association.***

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