Devastating fires can occur in homes and other structures, as well as in forests, grasslands and other open spaces. They result from carelessness, faulty equipment, a deliberate act, natural disasters, such as earthquakes, and during extreme weather events.
Fast Facts:
More than 4,000 Americans die in fires each year and thousands more suffer injuries. Property loss is estimated at $8.6 billion and thousands of acres of forests are destroyed by wild fires every year.
A house fire can become life-threatening within two minutes, so there may be no time to try and gather personal items. In five minutes, a home can be fully engulfed in flames.
Smoke alarms, with charged batteries, and having planned escape routes that all family members know are important life-saving measures.
Fire Safety Resources
Office of Fire Prevention and Control (OFPC) provides fire-related information for the general public as well as fire and emergency personnel.
Are You Ready? Citizen Preparedness - Fires - Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Home Fire Safety - American Red Cross
University of Florida: The Disaster Handbook
Hot Hay Alert a Cornell University fact sheet that addresses the prevention of fires in barns that store baled hay.
Fire Prevention Information - U.S. Fire Administration
CHILDREN’S RESOURCES
Fire safety educational activities for children - OFPC
Children's activities promoting fire safety and prevention - U.S. Fire Administration
Children and Fire University of Florida, The Disaster Handbook: guide for parents on preventing children from starting or being seriously injured in a house fire.
Wildfires
As more people choose to build homes on hillsides, in heavily wooded areas and on prairies, the potential to be exposed to a wildfire increases. Wildfires are most often the result of a lightning strike or an accident but they spread quickly in areas heavy with vegetation. The smoke which is a mixture of gases and fine particles from burning trees and plants, can be very hazardous in a wildfire to people with chronic heart or lung conditions.
Protecting your home from wildfires - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
USDA Forest Service provides general information on wild land fire prevention:
Living with Fire - wildfire threat reduction measures, Cooperative Extension, University of Nevada, Reno.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides:
Firewise Communities Program is a resource for agencies, organizations, Native American tribes, and communities in the U.S. who are working toward the reduction of lives and property caused by wildland fires.
Colorado State University Extension:
Recovery Resources
After the Fire - U.S. Fire Administration