Fire damage is considered to be one of the most notorious causes of sudden loss - the sudden loss of finances and worst, the unexpected loss of a loved one. Below are a few facts about fire damage and its impact to the lives of fellow Americans. We hope that by this, we become more cautious and serious about implementing fire prevention methods in our respective homes.



1. Almost 80% of civilian fire deaths were caused by home fires. Kitchens are the most common area of origin for most home structure fires with cooking as its leading activity cause. The bedroom comes next. Most of the reported home fire cases which started in the bedroom were caused by a neglected lighted cigarette. Most of these situations were aggravated by the absence of smoke alarms. Home fire damage are most rampant during the months of December and January.

2. In 2007, a total of 1,557,500 fire incidents were reported in the United States causing 3,430 civilian deaths and $14.6 billion in property damage. Around 500,000 cases were structure fires and over 200,000 were home fires.

3. In the 2007, US fire departments responded to fire every 20 seconds. A home structure fire was reported every 79 seconds while a structure fire was confirmed every 59 seconds. As for casualties, one civilian fire injury was reported every 30 minutes while 1 civilian fire death occurred every 2 and a half hours. An outside fire was confirmed every 41 seconds while a vehicle fire was reported every 122 seconds.

4. The firefighter population in the US is composed of 28% career firefighters and 72% volunteer fire fighters. The US has an estimated number of 30,635 fire departments evenly distributed across states. In 2007, 102 fire fighters died in fire while on duty caused by stress and exertion resulting to cardiac arrests and heart attacks. A total of 36 deaths were reported during fire ground operations, 17 died in residential homes and 27 died when the fire truck crashed while on the way to response a fire call.

5. The most common causes of home fires are the following:

- Bedroom smoking aggravated by beddings, mattresses and curtains. Between 2002 and 2005, the mattress was the item first ignited causing 378 civilian deaths and $357 property damage.

-Fireworks. Most of the fireworks fire damage incidents happen during the New Year celebration. In 2000, the casualty caused by fireworks went up due to different celebrations during the advent of the new millennium.

- Upholstered Furniture. Upholstered furniture aggravated by smoking and other combustible materials like lighters and matches were also reported to be common causes for most fire damage incidents.

- Cooking equipment. Gas ranges are responsible for 67% of reported fire incidents which started in the kitchen.

- Heating equipment. Chimney connectors were accounted to have the biggest share in fire incidents caused by home heating equipment.

Fire damage comes very unexpectedly causing unforeseen losses to thousands of households all across the world. The above data are some helpful facts which were intentionally collated to help everybody become aware about the dangerous impact of fire damage not just to our finances and properties but even more importantly, to the loss of our dreams and people we love.