Apartment Fire Safety
Medford Fire Prevention Bureau
2009 Medford
Structural Fire Statistics
Structure Fires by Type:
• 82% Residential
• 18% Commercial
2009 Medford
Structural Fire Statistics
Residential Structure Fires by Type:
• 64% Single Family Residence
• 7% Duplex
• 19% Multi-Family
2009 Residential Fire Statistics
Time of Alarm:
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9% between 12:00 AM and 3:59 AM
6% between 4:00 AM and 7:59 AM
10% between 8:00 AM and 11:59 AM
24% between 12:00 PM and 3:59 PM
28% between 4:00 PM and 7:59 PM
23% between 8:00 PM and 11:59 PM
2009 Residential Fire Statistics
Areas of Origin:
• 33% kitchens
• 6% common rooms (living room, den, family room)
• 6% exterior origins
Causes:
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80% unintentional
10% intentional
8% undetermined
2% act of nature
Initial Ignition Heat Sources:
• 22% radiated/conducted heat from operating equipment
• 14% from powered equipment
• 13% heat from hot ember or ash
2009 Residential Fire Statistics
Smoke Alarms:
• 54% present and alerted the residents
• 31% did not alert or were not present
National Residential Fire
Statistics-Primary Victims
Children
• 2,500 children aged 14 or younger were injured or
killed in residential fires (2002)
• ½ under the age of 5 and 70% under the age of 10
Older Adults
• 2,300 adults age 65 or older were injured or killed
in residential fires (2002)
• 80% between ages 65-84
• 2.5 times more likely to die in a fire than the overall
population
Source: USFA
National Residential Fire
Statistics-Primary Victims
Children
• Young children often hide during fires
• Young children may sleep through a sounding
smoke alarm
Older Adults
• Older adults may suffer from reduced sensory
abilities such as smell, touch, vision, and hearing
- Inability to smell smoke
- Inability to feel if something is hot
- Inability to see fires or notice fire causes
- Inability to hear smoke alarms or fire sounds
• May suffer from disabilities
• Reduced reaction times
Source: USFA
Cooking Fires
Statistics:
Responsible annually for an average of:
- 100,000 home fires
- 400 deaths
- 5,000 civilian injuries
- $200 million in property damage
Primary cause-unattended cooking
Cooking Safety
Safety measures:
• Never leave cooking food unattended
• Keep combustible material and loose
clothing away from open flames
• Keep the appliance and cooking area
clean
• Use extra caution with cooking oils as
they can ignite easily
• Always turn the pan handle sideways
Cooking Fires
Statistics:
Cooking is leading cause of burn injuries among older people
Burns:
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Treat a burn immediately
Cool a burn with cool water, never ice
Cover a burn with a clean, dry cloth or bandage
Don’t use ointment, spray, or butter
If a burn is larger than your fist, get medical help.
If you have questions about burn injuries, email the
Oregon Burn Center at cryun@lhs.org.
For life threatening emergencies, call 9-1-1
Source: OSFM; USFA
Portable Heater Fires
Statistics:
Responsible annually for an average of:
- 62,200 fires
- 670 deaths
- 1,550 civilian injuries
- $909 million in property damage
Primary cause-combustibles too close
Portable Heater Safety
Safety measures:
• Keep heaters a minimum of 36” away from
combustibles
• Plug directly into a wall outlet. Don’t use an
extension cord
• Use only heaters with built-in high temperature and
tip-over shutoff features
• Do not use un-vented fuel-fired heaters indoors
• Do not hang combustible items to dry over a heater
• Turn off portable heaters when family members are
sleeping or leave the house
• Keep heaters out of high traffic areas and exit paths
Candle Fires
Statistics:
Responsible annually for an average of:
- 23,600 home fires
- 165 deaths
- 1,525 civilian injuries
- $300 million in property damage
Primary cause-unattended candles
Candle Safety
Safety measures:
• Blow out candles before leaving the room
• Keep candles away from items that can burn
• Always use sturdy metal, glass or ceramic
candle holders
• Place candles out of reach of small children and
pets
Electrical Fires
Statistics:
Homes more than 40 years old are 3 times more likely to catch
fire from electrical causes than homes 11-20 years old
Safety measures:
• Replace electrical cords that show signs of damage, and never
coil or walk on cords
• Avoid using extension cords. Use a power strip with a built-in
circuit breaker instead
• Avoid overloading circuits
• Have an electrician check your house if fuses blow or breakers
trip frequently
• Have an electrician check your house if you frequently
experience dimming of lighting
Source: USFA
Clothes Dryer Fires
Statistics:
Responsible annually for an average of:
- 15,500 home fires
- 10 deaths
- 310 injuries
- $84.4 million in property damage.
Clothes Dryer Fires
Safety measures:
• Clean the lint screen before every use
• Clean out exhaust vents regularly and check for proper airflow
• Use a smooth metal exhaust vent (avoid using foil or plastic
venting)
• Use a cool-down cycle to prevent the possibility of spontaneous
ignition
• Do not dry clothing/fabric on which there is anything flammable
(alcohol, cooking oils, gasoline, spot removers, dry-cleaning
solvents, etc.)
• Cotton fabrics are susceptible to spontaneous ignition if they have
interacted with oils even if they have been laundered with
detergent. Any fabric that has been exposed to oils should be
stored in a covered metal container.
Smoking
Statistics:
- The leading cause of fire-related deaths
- Accounts for nearly 1/3 of fire deaths in adults over age 70
Safety measures:
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Always discard smoldering and spent cigarettes properly
Use large non-combustible deep and tip resistant ashtrays
Never smoke in bed
Never smoke while using oxygen. Warn visitors not to
smoke near you.
• Douse cigarettes with water before throwing them in the
trash
• Always keep matches/lighters out of reach of children
Carbon Monoxide
Statistics:
• Responsible annually for an average of:
- Over 400 deaths per year
- Over 20,000 emergency room visits
Safety measures:
• Install a CO detector
• Never use portable fueled/unvented heaters in your home. These will cause a CO
buildup and may also deplete the oxygen to dangerously low levels.
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Never use a gas oven to heat your home
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Never use charcoal or propane fueled barbeques indoors
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Never idle the car in the garage for extended periods of time or with the garage
door closed
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Never use a generator in your home
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Have your chimney checked or cleaned every year. Chimneys blocked by debris
can cause CO to build up inside your home or cabin.
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Have your fuel-fired appliances inspected by a trained technician for proper
venting
Planning Ahead for Safety
Source: (OFC 202)
Emergency Guide
408.9.1 Emergency guide. A fire emergency
guide shall be provided which describes the
location, function and use of fire protection
equipment and appliances accessible to
residents, including fire alarm systems, smoke
alarms, and portable fire extinguishers. The
guide shall also include an emergency
evacuation plan for each dwelling unit.
408.9.2 Maintenance. Emergency guides shall
be reviewed and approved….by the fire code
official.
408.9.3 Distribution. A copy of the emergency
guide shall be given to each tenant prior to
initial occupancy.
Fire Safety and Evacuation Plans
Emergency Evacuation Drills
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Purpose of Fire Drills
– To be ready should an occurrence happen, increasing the
chanced of survival. A disorganized evacuation can lead to
confusion, injury, death and property damage.
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When Required
– Group A: quarterly for employees only
– Group B: annually
» 500 or more occupants; 100 above or below lowest level of exit discharge
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Group E: monthly complete evacuation.
Group I: quarterly each shift for staff only.
Group R1: quarterly each shift for staff only.
Group R-2 (college and university): quarterly all occupants
Group R-4 & SR: see IFC 408.1.2.
High Rise: annually employees only
Source: (OFC 405)
Home Fire Escape Drills
Plan Ahead and Practice!
• Establish a safe meeting place.
• Teach your children to crawl on the floor to avoid smoke and
heat. Show them how to feel the door with the back of their
hand and to not open the door if it is hot to the touch.
• Make sure you have two ways out of every sleeping room,
and that the windows can be opened easily. If the primary
route is blocked by smoke or fire, you may have to escape
through a window.
• Conduct a fire drill at night to determine your child’s
response, and practice until it becomes routine.
• Practice home escape drills with your family monthly.
• Sleep with bedroom doors closed to provide a barrier of
protection from smoke and heat spreading into your
bedrooms.
How Will You React to a Fire?
What to Do in a Fire
In case of fire, think “RACE”:
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Rescue all persons in immediate area
Alarm: announce the fire- Pull alarm and dial 911
Confine the fire by closing doors
Evacuate/Extinguish the fire if possible
Do not:
– Try to fight the fire
– Attempt to re-enter a burning home
Sources: Oregon Fire Code, NFPA, OSHA, and Numerous Business Emergency Plans.
What If I Am Unable to Get Out?
Create an area of refuge for yourself
• Seal the room
- Use wet cloth to stuff around cracks in doors and
seal up vents to protect against smoke
• Do not break the windows
- Flames and smoke can come back in from the
outside. If you need air, open the window a crack
• Stay low under the smoke
- The freshest air is near the floor. Keep a wet cloth
over your nose and mouth and breath through
your nose only
• Signal for help
- Use the telephone, or hang something out the window
Sources: Fire Safety for Older Persons, Seattle Fire Department.
What about Elevators?
Never use elevators in a fire
emergency because:
• Elevators often fail during a fire,
trapping occupants
• Elevator shafts may fill with smoke
• The elevator needs to be available for
the use of arriving firefighters
Sources: Fire Safety for Older Persons, Seattle Fire Department.
How do I Use a Fire Extinguisher?
Proper extinguisher use, think “PASS”:
Pull trigger pin (Stand back several feet away from fire)
Aim low, point the nozzle at the base of the fire
Squeeze trigger
Sweep from side to side until the fire appears to be out
Smoke Alarms are Essential
• Provides an early warning of a fire
developing in your home
• Should be on every level of the home, in the
immediate area outside of the sleeping
rooms, and in every bedroom
• Should be tested monthly
• Properly placed and maintained smoke
alarms increase your chances of surviving a
fire by 50%
• If you discover your child will not wake to a
traditional sounding alarm, consider
installing a personalized parent voice alarm
Carbon Monoxide Alarms
• Are needed when you have fuel-fired
appliances
• Provide an early warning of a Dangerous CO
concentrations developing in your home
• According to Oregon Administrative Rules,
should be located within each bedroom or
within 15 feet outside of each bedroom
door. Bedrooms on separate floors in a
structure containing two or more stories
require separate carbon monoxide alarms.
• Should be installed according to
manufacturer’s instructions
Landlord-Tenant Laws
Smoke Alarms
• Landlord is required to provide working smoke alarm(s) when
tenant moves
• Tenant is resposible to test and maintain smoke alarm(s) and to
replace dead batteries
Carbon Monoxide
For Units containing or connected to CO source:
July 1, 2010
• Landlord is required to provide working CO alarm(s) when a
landlord enters into a rental agreement for a dwelling unit subject
to these rules on or after July 1, 2010.
April 1, 2011
• Landlord is required to provide working CO alarm(s) to every
dwelling unit by April 1, 2011.
What Can I Do to Help Make This
Facility Safe?
• Be observant
• Plan ahead
• Know your exits
• Report hazards
• Get involved
Questions?