Fire deaths

The fire death rate in the United States is decreasing, dropping from a rate of 76 per million in the 1940s, when most constmction and decorative products were made of natural materials, to 29 per million in the 1980s, by which time, PVC had replaced natural materials in numerous appHcations (189). This downward trend can be attributed in large part to improved building codes and the broader use of sprinkler systems and smoke detectors. However, the increased use of more fire-resistant materials, such as PVC, deserves part of the credit for this improvement. 

As noted nearly five centuries ago, fires produce smoke and as learned this century, most of the fire deaths in this country result from people breathing that smoke (1). Over the years, the United States and Canada have had the worst fire loss records among the industrialized countries which keep such records (2). At present, the United States suffers 6,000 deaths and 30,000 reported injuries per year (3). The annual property damage exceeds 7 billion, and the total cost of fire is over 50 billion (4). 

Samples of smoke during fires have indicated that hydrogen cyanide is not of concern in fire deaths because the levels found were much below lethal levels. 

It is well known that hydrogen cyanide can be liberated during combustion of nitrogen containing polymers such as wool, silk, polyacrylonitrile, or nylons (1, 2). Several investigators have reported cyanide levels in smoke from a variety of fires (3, 4, 5). The levels reported are much below the lethal levels. Thus the role of cyanide in fire deaths would seem to be quite low. However, as early as 1966 the occurence of cyanide in the blood (above normal values) of fire victims was reported (6). Since then many investigators have reported elevated cyanide levels in fire victims (7-13). However, it has been difficult to arrive at a cyanide blood level which can be considered lethal in humans. In this report the results of cyanide analysis in blood of fire victims are reported as well as the possibility that cyanide may, in some cases, be more important than carbon monoxide as the principal toxicant in fire smoke. 

Sixteen cities/jurisdictions in the U. S. and Canada have participated in this study as listed in Table I. Fire death reports were collected from January 1984 until March 1989. For each fire death, a report from the fire department was submitted. An autopsy report was submitted by the medical examiner or coroner. Laboratory reports on... 

Table I. Participants in Fire Deaths Data Collection...

Figure 4. Levels of blood ethanol in fire death victims.

Nitrogen containing polymers have the potential to release cyanide when thermally decomposed. This study demonstrates that cyanide plays an important role in fire deaths. 

Benjamin/Clarke Associates Fire Deaths Technomic Lancaster, 1984. 

The correction is important because majority of U.S. fire deaths occur remote from the fire room, overall and especially for fires that have proceeded past flashover.68... 

The methods for estimation of FED and FEC allow materials developers to assess their products, and if the fire toxicity is likely to be high, to see which species are to blame and take remedial action. Since incapacitation in a fire will result in a fire death in the same way as lethality (unless the incapacitated victim is fortunate enough to be rescued) it is more appropriate to use the incapacitation methodology of ISO 13571 than the rat lethality methodology of ISO 13344. 

R.A. Anderson, A.A. Watson, and W.A. Harland, Fire deaths in the Glasgow area. II. The role of carbon monoxide, Medicine Science and the Law, 21, 60-66, 1981 Fire deaths in the Glasgow area. III. The role of hydrogen cyanide, Medicine Science and the Law, 22, 35M-0, 1982. 

Thermal injury is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, fire killed more Americans in 2004 than all natural disasters combined, with nearly 3,900 deaths and about 18,000 injured. The United States has the fourth-highest fire death rate of all industrialized countries with about 80% of all fire deaths being associated with residential fires (United States Fire Administration, 2005). 

The latest statistics from the (US) National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) report that the fire death rate in the United States was 1.3 times higher (2.1... 

Fire statistics collected by NFPA indicated that 1 687 500 fires were reported in the United States in 2002, the latest year for which complete statistics are available at the time of this writing. Calculated another way, these statistics translate into a reported fire occurring in the United States every 19 s, in an outside property every 38 s, in a structure every 61s, in a residence every 67 s, and in a motor vehicle every 96 s. These fires caused 3380 civilian deaths and 18 425 reported injuries in 2002. Excluding New York City s World Trade Center deaths from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in which 2326 civilian deaths occurred, the number of deaths in 2002 decreased by almost 10% from the previous year. However, there still was one civilian fire death every 156 min and one fire injury every 28 min. The number for injuries is believed to be less than the actual number, since many injuries are not reported. The property loss due to fires in 2002 is estimated at 10.3 billion dollars and indicates a decrease of 2.2% from the previous year, if one excludes the World Trade Center deaths from the 2001 numbers. 

One must distinguish between the causes of fires and the causes of fire deaths. The primary causes of residential fires have been shown to be heating and cooking. Lack of central heat and the incorrect use of portable space heaters are two of the reasons given for the high fire and death rate in the South. Heating... 

The following two limited studies dispute the assumptions that half these upholstered furniture related fire deaths involved urethane foam. These studies also reflect the significance of analyzing the fire problem from a composite perspective rather than by simply evaluating the components individually. 

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