Wildfires and House Fires

There are two major types of fires that injure many people: wildfires and building fires.

In 2007, there were more than 85,000 wildfires across the nation that burned more than 9.3 million acres of land. This included people’s homes, farms and businesses. In 2006, there were more than 412,000 home fires reported to fire departments, and more than 2,500 people died and more than 12,000 were injured.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Deaths from fires and burns are the fifth most common cause of unintentional injury deaths in the United states and the third leading cause of fatal home injury.”

The leading cause of these fatal fires is failure to properly extinguish a lit cigarette. Cooking fires are also extremely common.

To keep yourself, your family and your home safe from fires, the most important step is to ban smoking from your house and its immediate surroundings. Also, make sure you have fully functional fire alarms installed throughout the house, and that you have properly charged fire extinguishers. Finally, talk to your family about how to escape and stay safe in case of a house fire, and don’t forget to talk about safety in the event of a school or office fire.

In case of a wildfire, make sure to follow all directions given to you by fire authorities. When they ask you to evacuate your home, do so immediately. Take only your most important valuables, such as any irreplaceable legal and ownership documents. Don’t try to stay and protect your home. Fires can travel faster than 14 mph, which is faster than we can run. Only top athletes have a chance of outrunning a fire like that, and even then it’s only if the fire travels in a straight line, which they rarely do.

Fires can jump roads, abruptly change directions because of wind, or erupt into an explosion of flames under the right conditions.

Damages from fires exceed several billion dollars each year, and cause more than $7 billion in medical expenses.

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Wildfires and House Fires There are two major types of fires that injure many people: wildfires and building fires. In 2007, there were more than 85,000 wildfires across the nation that burned more than 9.3 million acres of land. This included people’s homes, farms and businesses. In 2006, there were more than 412,000 home fires reported to fire departments, and more than 2,500 people died and more than 12,000 were injured. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Deaths from fires and burns are the fifth most common cause of unintentional injury deaths in the United states and the third leading cause of fatal home injury.” The leading cause of these fatal fires is failure to properly extinguish a lit cigarette. Cooking fires are also extremely common. To keep yourself, your family and your home safe from fires, the most important step is to ban smoking from your house and its immediate surroundings. Also, make sure you have fully functional fire alarms installed throughout the house, and that you have properly charged fire extinguishers. Finally, talk to your family about how to escape and stay safe in case of a house fire, and don’t forget to talk about safety in the event of a school or office fire. In case of a wildfire, make sure to follow all directions given to you by fire authorities. When they ask you to evacuate your home, do so immediately. Take only your most important valuables, such as any irreplaceable legal and ownership documents. Don’t try to stay and protect your home. Fires can travel faster than 14 mph, which is faster than we can run. Only top athletes have a chance of outrunning a fire like that, and even then it’s only if the fire travels in a straight line, which they rarely do. Fires can jump roads, abruptly change directions because of wind, or erupt into an explosion of flames under the right conditions. Damages from fires exceed several billion dollars each year, and cause more than $7 billion in medical expenses.