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.***