Multifamily Residential Building Fires (2017-2019)
oT cliap eFr i eR op r t Seeri sAugust 2021 Volume 21, Issue 7Multifamily Residential Building Fires(2017-2019)These topical reports aredesigned to explore facetsof the U.S. fire problem asdepicted through datacollected in the U.S. FireAdministration’s (USFA’s)National Fire IncidentReporting System (NFIRS).Each topical report brieflyaddresses the nature ofthe specific fire or firerelated topic, highlightsimportant findings fromthe data, and may suggestother resources to considerfor further information.Also included are recentexamples of fire incidentsthat demonstrate someof the issues addressed inthe report or that put thereport topic in context.Findings as reported to the NFIRSĵĵĵĵĵĵĵĵĵEach year, from 2017 to 2019, an estimated average of 106,700 multifamily residentialbuilding fires were reported to fire departments within the United States. Thesefires caused an estimated annual average of 400 deaths, 3,875 injuries and 1.7billion in property loss.Multifamily residential building fires accounted for 29% of all residential building fires.Small, confined fires accounted for 71% of multifamily residential building fires.Multifamily residential building fire incidence was slightly higher in the coolermonths, peaking in January at 10%.Cooking, at 74%, was the leading cause of multifamily residential building fires. Ofthese cooking fires, 95% were small, confined fires with limited damage.Cooking areas and kitchens (33%) were the primary areas of origin for nonconfinedmultifamily residential building fires.In 31% of nonconfined multifamily residential building fires, the fire extended beyondthe room of origin. The leading cause of these larger fires was other unintentional,careless actions (14%). In contrast, 54% of all other nonconfined residential buildingfires (excluding multifamily buildings) extended beyond the room of origin.Smoke alarms were present in 64% of nonconfined multifamily residentialbuilding fires.Full or partial automatic extinguishing systems (AESs), including residentialsprinklers, were present in 15% of nonconfined multifamily residential buildings.From 2017 to 2019, multifamily residential building fires accounted for an annual estimated average of 106,700reported fires. These fires resulted in an annual estimated average of 400 deaths, 3,875 injuries and 1.7 billionin property loss.1, 2 In addition, multifamily residential building fires accounted for 29% of all residential buildingfires responded to by fire departments across the nation. 3Multifamily residential buildings include structures such as apartments, town houses, row houses, condominiumsand other tenement properties. Multifamily residential buildings tend to have stricter building codes than oneand two-family buildings. 4 Many multifamily residential buildings are rental properties, and they are usuallyrequired to comply with more stringent fire prevention statutes and regulations involving smoke alarms andsprinkler systems. As a result of the type of building, the more stringent building and code requirements, andthe fact that more people live in the building itself than in the predominant one- and two-family residences, firesin multifamily residential buildings tend to have a different profile than fires in other types of residences.A major difference in the multifamily residential building fire profile is seen in cooking fires. Cooking was theleading cause of 74% of multifamily residential building fires, almost twice that of all other types of residentialbuildings. Multifamily residential buildings also tend to have central heating systems that are maintained byprofessionals instead of homeowners, thus there are typically fewer heating fires from poor maintenance ormisuse than in one- and two-family dwellings. Also, fire problems related to fireplaces, chimneys and fireplace-National Fire Data Center16825 S. Seton Ave.Emmitsburg, MD 21727usfa.fema.gov
TFRS Volume 21, Issue 7 Multifamily Residential Building Fires (2017-2019)related equipment tend to occur less often in multifamily heating fires since multifamily residential buildings generallylack these features. Finally, multifamily residential buildings usually have fewer fires caused by electrical problemsdue to construction materials, building codes and professional maintenance.This topical report is an update to the “Multifamily Residential Building Fires (2013-2015)” (Volume 18, Issue 3) report,released in June 2017. As part of a series of topical reports that address fires in the major residential building types,the remainder of this report addresses the characteristics of multifamily residential building fires as reported to theNFIRS. Comparisons to one- and two-family residential building fires are noted based on analyses from the “One- andTwo-Family Residential Building Fires (2017-2019)” (Volume 21, Issue 6) topical report.The focus is on fires reported from 2017 to 2019, the most current data available at the time of the analysis.5 Completeor full years of data are required for statistical analyses presented in these topical reports. Although the NFIRS datafor a calendar year are often reported to the USFA throughout the year, fire departments and or states have until theofficial cutoff date as set forth by the National Fire Data Center to submit their data to the USFA. Typically, this cutoffdate is July 1 after the end of the previous calendar year. This provides states with ample time to perform data qualitychecks and correct questionable incidents before they are set to released status in the national production databaseand Enterprise Data Warehouse. Once the data are released to the USFA, additional data quality reviews are completedbefore the data are prepared for public release.For this report, the terms “residential fires” and “multifamily fires” are synonymous with “residential building fires”and “multifamily residential building fires,” respectively. “Multifamily fires” is used throughout the body of this report;the findings, tables, figures, headings and endnotes reflect the full category of “multifamily residential building fires.”Type of fireBuilding fires are divided into 2 classes of severity in the NFIRS: confined fires and nonconfined fires. Confined buildingfires are small fire incidents that are limited in extent to specific types of equipment or objects, staying within pots,fireplaces or certain other noncombustible containers.6 Confined fires rarely result in serious injury or large contentloss and are expected to have no significant accompanying property loss due to flame damage.7 Nonconfined firesextend beyond certain types of equipment or objects. They are generally larger fires resulting in more serious injuryand larger losses of property and content.The smaller, confined fires accounted for 71% of the multifamily fires, with cooking fires as the predominant type ofconfined fire (Table 1). Nonconfined fires made up the remaining 29% of multifamily fires. In contrast to one- andtwo-family residences, the relative proportions of confined and nonconfined fires were reversed; nonconfined firesaccounted for the bulk of one- and two-family building fires (60%), and confined fires accounted for the remaining 40%.Table 1. Multifamily residential building fires by type of incident (2017-2019)Incident typePercentNonconfined fires28.7Confined fires71.3Cooking fire, confined to container63.3Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue0.4Incinerator overload or malfunction, fire confined0.1Fuel burner/boiler malfunction, fire confined2.0Commercial compactor fire, confined to rubbish0.7Trash or rubbish fire, contained4.8Total100.0Source: NFIRS 5.0.2
TFRS Volume 21, Issue 7 Multifamily Residential Building Fires (2017-2019)Loss measuresTable 2 presents losses, averaged over this 3-year period from 2017 to 2019, of reported multifamily fires and all otherresidential fires.8 The average number of fatalities per 1,000 multifamily fires was less than half that of the same lossmeasure for all other residential building fires. The average dollar loss per fire for multifamily fires was more thanhalf that of the same loss measure for all other residential building fires. In addition, the average loss measures fornonconfined multifamily fires were substantially higher than the same loss measures for confined multifamily fires;this is to be expected, however, since confined fires rarely result in serious injury or large content loss.Table 2. Loss measures for multifamily residential building fires (3-year average, 2017-2019)Confinedmultifamilyresidentialbuilding firesMultifamilyresidentialbuilding ing firesResidentialbuilding fires(excludingmultifamily)Average LossFatalities/1,000 fires3.10.010.77.529.37.084.423.9 13,730 190 47,300 20,750Injuries/1,000 firesDollar loss/fireSource: NFIRS 5.0.Notes: 1. Average loss for fatalities and injuries is computed per 1,000 fires; average dollar loss is computed per fire and rounded to the nearest 10.2. The 2017 and 2018 dollar-loss values were adjusted to 2019 dollars.When multifamily residential building fires occurAs shown in Figure 1, multifamily fires occurred most frequently in the evening, peaking during dinner hours from6 to 8 p.m.9 This peak period was consistent with the major cause of fires, cooking (discussed in the next section,“Causes of Multifamily Residential Building Fires”), and accounted for 16% of multifamily fires. Fires then declinedthroughout the night, reaching the lowest point during the morning hours from 5 to 6 a.m.Figure 1. Multifamily residential building fires by time of alarm (2017-2019)Percent of multifamilyresidential building fires9.08.07.17.06.05.04.03.02.92.52.02.12.1 1.81.7 1.5 1.62.63.23.94.45.3 5.65.0 5.17.8 7.76.86.15.44.43.51.011 p.m. - Mid10 - 11 p.m.9 - 10 p.m.8 - 9 p.m.7 - 8 p.m.6 - 7 p.m.5 - 6 p.m.4 - 5 p.m.3 - 4 p.m.2 - 3 p.m.1 - 2 p.m.12 - 1 p.m.11 a.m. - 12 p.m.10 - 11 a.m.9 - 10 a.m.8 - 9 a.m.7 - 8 a.m.6 - 7 a.m.5 - 6 a.m.4 - 5 a.m.3 - 4 a.m.2 - 3 a.m.1 - 2 a.m.Mid - 1 a.m.0.0Time of alarmSource: NFIRS 5.0.Note:Total does not add up to 100% due to rounding.3
TFRS Volume 21, Issue 7 Multifamily Residential Building Fires (2017-2019)Figure 2 illustrates that multifamily fire incidence was slightly higher in the cooler months, peaking in January at 10%.This peak was partially the result of an increase in heating fires. Multifamily fire incidence was lowest during themonths of June through September reaching a low in August at 7%.Figure 2. Multifamily residential building fires by month r8.09.1September8.5August9.9July10.0JunePercent of multifamilyresidential building fires12.08.26.04.02.0Month of yearOctoberMayAprilMarchFebruaryJanuary0.0Source: NFIRS 5.0.Causes of multifamily residential building firesAs shown in Table 3, cooking was by far the leading cause of multifamily fires, accounting for 74% of all multifamily fires.10The majority of all cooking fires (95%) in multifamily residences were small, confined fires with limited damage. Thenext 7 causes combined accounted for 19% of multifamily fires: heating (4%); other unintentional, careless actions (4%);electrical malfunctions (3%); open flames (2%); other heat sources (2%); appliances (2%); and intentional actions (2%).11Table 3. Leading and secondary causes of multifamily residential building fires (2017-2019)CausePercent(unknowns apportioned)Cooking74.4Heating3.9Other unintentional, careless3.5Electrical malfunction2.5Open flame2.4Other heat2.2Appliances2.1Intentional2.1Source: NFIRS 5.0.The fire cause profile for multifamily buildings was different from the fire cause profile for one- and two-familybuildings. While the 2 leading causes, cooking and heating, were the same, cooking was a substantially moreprevalent cause of multifamily fires (74%) than of one- and two-family fires (37%). Heating was a much smaller causeof multifamily fires (4%) than of one- and two-family fires (12%).4
TFRS Volume 21, Issue 7 Multifamily Residential Building Fires (2017-2019)One explanation for the importance of cooking as a cause of multifamily fires may lie in the construction materials,building codes and professional maintenance of the buildings. For example, many multifamily residential buildingstend to have systems — heating and electrical systems, for instance — that are regularly maintained by professionals.As a result, there are fewer fires from lack of maintenance or misuse than in one- and two-family housing. Multifamilybuildings also have fewer fire problems related to fireplaces, chimneys and fireplace-related equipment than one- andtwo-family residential buildings, since multifamily buildings generally lack this equipment.12It may also be that confined cooking fires are reported to the fire department more often in multifamily residences.While these fires are small and contained, and they do not cause much damage, someone may hear the alarm inthe complex (if the fire is large enough to activate it) or may smell smoke and notify the building manager or thefire department. If it is a newer complex, the alarms are often connected to the building alarm system, and the firedepartment is automatically called. These same small cooking fires in one- and two-family residences may occur asfrequently but may not be reported as often. As little damage occurs and only the residents hear the smoke alarmor smell the smoke, the residents may elect not to call the fire department.Fire spread in multifamily residential building firesThree-quarters of multifamily fires (75%) were limited to the object of origin (Figure 3). These fires were primarilycoded as confined fires in the NFIRS (small, low-loss fires that were confined to noncombustible containers); 93% ofmultifamily fires limited to the object of origin were reported as confined fires. Only 9% of multifamily fires extendedbeyond the room of origin, far fewer than in one- and two-family residences (33%).Figure 3. Extent of fire spread in multifamily residential building fires (2017-2019)74.9Limited to object of origin8.3Fire spreadLimited to room of originLimited to floor of origin3.0Limited to building of originBeyond building of 0Percent of multifamily residential building firesSource: NFIRS 5.0.Confined firesThe NFIRS allows abbreviated reporting for confined fires, and many reporting details of these fires are not required,nor are they reported. (Not all fires limited to the object of origin are counted as confined fires.13) For example, a firecontained to a chair or clothes dryer is not defined as a confined fire in the NFIRS because of the greater potentialfor spread. Unlike fires in pots or chimneys, there is no container to stop the fire, even though the fire did not spreadbeyond the object of origin.Because 71% of multifamily fires are confined, the profiles of when multifamily confined fires occurred and theircauses dominated the overall multifamily fire profile. As shown in Table 1, confined cooking fires accounted for 63%of multifamily fire incidents and dominated the cause of multifamily fires.5
TFRS Volume 21, Issue 7 Multifamily Residential Building Fires (2017-2019)The occurrence of confined multifamily fires was greatest during the hours from 5 to 8 p.m., when they accountedfor 77% of all multifamily fires that occurred during this period. Moreover, confined cooking fires accounted for 91%of the confined fires and 70% of all fires in multifamily buildings that occurred during this time period.Confined multifamily fires also peaked in January and declined throughout the spring, reaching the lowest incidenceduring the month of July.Nonconfined firesThe next sections of this topical report address nonconfined residential fires — the larger and more serious fires —where more detailed fire data are available, as they are required to be reported in the NFIRS.Causes of nonconfined multifamily residential building firesWhile cooking was the leading cause for multifamily fires overall (74%), it only accounted for 15% of all nonconfinedmultifamily fires (Figure 4). The next leading causes were other unintentional, careless actions (14%); electricalmalfunctions (10%); open flames, such as candles or matches (9%); other heat sources (8%); and appliances (8%).These 5 causes accounted for 50% of the fires.14Figure 4. Causes of nonconfined multifamily residential building fires (2017-2019)Intentional5.40.80.6Playing with heat Electrical malfunctionCausesPercent of nonconfined multifamilyresidential building fires with causedeterminedPercent of all nonconfined multifamilyresidential building fires7.68.46.39.16.98.46.3AppliancesOpen flameOther heat1.10.81.41.1Other equipmentNatural4.13.1ExposureEquipment misoperation, failure5.0Other unintentional, careless6.610.42.51.9Cause under 25.030.035.0Percent of nonconfined multifamily residential building firesSource: NFIRS 5.0.Notes: 1. Causes are listed in order of the USFA Structure Fire Cause Hierarchy for ease of comparison of fire causes across different aspects of the fire problem. Firesare assigned to 1 of 16 cause groupings using a hierarchy of definitions, as shown in this figure. A fire is included in the highest category into which it fits. If itdoes not fit the top category, then the second one is considered, and if not that one, the third, and so on. For example, if the fire is judged to be intentionallyset and a match was used to ignite it, it is classified as intentional and not open flame because intentional is higher in the hierarchy.2. Total percentages do not add up to 100% due to rounding.6
TFRS Volume 21, Issue 7 Multifamily Residential Building Fires (2017-2019)Where nonconfined multifamily residential building fires start (area of fire origin)Nonconfined multifamily fires most often started in cooking areas and kitchens (33%), as shown in Table 4. The nextleading area of fire origin was bedrooms (13%). Additional fires started in family rooms or living rooms (6%), exteriorbalconies or unenclosed porches (6%), bathrooms (5%), and laundry areas (5%). These areas of origin do not includeareas associated with confined fires, as that information generally is not reported for confined fires. Cooking fireswere a substantial percentage of all multifamily fires. Therefore, it is likely that the kitchen was the leading area offire origin for all multifamily fires.Nonetheless, nonconfined multifamily fires that started in the kitchen were not exclusively cooking fires — only 40%of fires that started in the kitchen were cooking fires. Other unintentional, careless actions (18%) and equipmentmisoperation or failure (12%) accounted for another 30% of these kitchen fires. Additional nonconfined multifamilyfires that started in the kitchen were caused by other heat sources (9%) and appliances (6%).Table 4. Leading areas of fire origin in nonconfined multifamily residential building fires (2017-2019)Areas of fire originPercent(unknowns apportioned)Cooking area, kitchen33.4Bedrooms12.6Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge6.2Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch5.8Bathrooms4.8Laundry area4.8Source: NFIRS 5.0.How nonconfined multifamily residential building fires start (heat source)Figure 5 shows sources of heat categories in nonconfined multifamily fires. The heat from powered equipmentcategory accounted for 52% of nonconfined multifamily fires. This category includes radiated or conducted heat fromoperating equipment (19%), heat from other powered equipment (17%), and electrical arcing (11%).Heat from open flame or smoking materials accounted for 20% of nonconfined multifamily fires. This categoryincludes cigarettes (7%), heat from miscellaneous open flames or smoking materials (4%), lighters and matches(combined, 4%), and candles (4%). The third largest heat source category pertains to hot or smoldering objects (14%).This category includes miscellaneous hot or smoldering objects (7%) and hot embers or ashes (5%).7
TFRS Volume 21, Issue 7 Multifamily Residential Building Fires (2017-2019)Figure 5. Sources of heat in nonconfined multifamily residential building fires by major category (2017-2019)Heat from powered equipmentHeat from open flame orsmoking material20.314.0Hot or smoldering objectsHeat source52.135.99.313.56.14.2Heat spread from another fire5.63.9Other heat sourcePercent of nonconfined multifamilyresidential building fires with heatsource determined1.30.9Chemical, natural heat sourceExplosives, fireworks0.70.5Multiple heat sources includingmultiple ignitions0.40.3Percent of all nonconfined multifamilyresidential building ercent of nonconfined multifamily residential building firesSource: NFIRS 5.0.Note:Total percentage of all nonconfined multifamily residential building fires does not add up to 100% due to rounding.Fire spread in nonconfined multifamily firesFigure 6 shows the extent of fire spread in nonconfined multifamily fires. The majority of nonconfined fires, 69%,were limited to the object or room of fire origin. In 51% of nonconfined fires, the fire was limited to the room of origin;in another 18% of fires, the fire was limited to the object of origin. In 31% of nonconfined multifamily fires, the fireextended beyond the room of origin. The leading causes of these larger fires were unintentional, careless actions(14%); exposures (13%); electrical malfunctions (11%); open flames (10%); smoking (9%); and intentional actions (9%).In contrast, 54% of all other nonconfined residential building fires (excluding multifamily building) extended beyondthe room of origin. AESs, such as sprinklers, can aid in containing multifamily fires, as discussed in a later section.Figure 6. Extent of fire spread in nonconfined multifamily residential building fires (2017-2019)18.2Limited to object of origin8.3Fire spreadLimited to room of originLimited to floor of origin50.610.3Limited to building of originBeyond building of origin18.62.20.010.020.030.040.050.060.0Percent of nonconfined multifamily residential building firesSource: NFIRS 5.0.Note:Total does not add up to 100% due to rounding.8
TFRS Volume 21, Issue 7 Multifamily Residential Building Fires (2017-2019)Factors contributing to ignition in nonconfined multifamily residential building firesTable 5 shows the categories of factors contributing to ignition for nonconfined multifamily fires. By far, the leadingcategory contributing to the ignition of nonconfined multifamily fires was the misuse of material or product (45%).Abandoned or discarded materials (16%) and a heat source too close to combustible materials (15%) were the leadingspecific factors contributing to ignition in this category.Operational deficiency, the second leading category, contributed to 21% of nonconfined multifamily fires. Unattendedequipment was the leading factor in the operational deficiency category, and it accounted for 12% of all nonconfinedmultifamily fires. Electrical failures and malfunctions was the third leading category of factors contributing to ignitionat 16%.Table 5. Factors contributing to ignition for nonconfined multifamily residential building fires by majorcategory (where factors contributing to ignition were specified, 2017-2019)Factors contributing to ignition categoryPercent of nonconfined multifamily residentialbuilding fires (unknowns apportioned)Misuse of material or product45.3Operational deficiency21.1Electrical failure, malfunction15.9Fire spread or control7.3Mechanical failure, malfunction6.2Other factors contributing to ignition6.2Natural condition1.5Design, manufacture, installation deficiency0.8Source: NFIRS 5.0.Notes: 1. Includes only incidents where factors that contributed to the ignition of the fire were specified.2. Multiple factors contributing to fire ignition may be noted for each incident; the total will exceed 100%.Alerting/suppression systems in multifamily residential building firesFire fatalities and injuries have declined over the last 40 years, partly due to new technologies to detect and extinguishfires. In addition, residential sprinklers have gained support from the fire service and many residential communities.Smoke alarm data are available for both confined and nonconfined fires, although for confined fires, the data arevery limited in scope. Since different levels of data are reported on smoke alarms in confined and nonconfined fires,the analyses are performed separately. The data presented in Tables 6 through 8 show the raw counts from theNFIRS dataset and are not scaled to national estimates of smoke alarms in multifamily fires. In addition, the NFIRSdoes not allow for the determination of the type of smoke alarm — that is, if the smoke alarm was photoelectric orionization — or the location of the smoke alarm with respect to the area of fire origin.Smoke alarms in nonconfined firesBecause of various avenues of fire notification in multifamily buildings, the detailed smoke alarm analyses in the nextsection focus on all nonconfined fires in multifamily buildings.15Smoke alarms were reported as present in 64% of nonconfined multifamily fires. In 18% of nonconfined multifamilyfires, no smoke alarms were present. In another 18% of these fires, firefighters were unable to determine if a smokealarm was present (Table 6).9
TFRS Volume 21, Issue 7 Multifamily Residential Building Fires (2017-2019)When operational status is considered, the percentage of smoke alarms reported as present (64%) consisted of:ĵĵĵPresent and operated — 42%.Present, but did not operate — 14% (fire too small, 8%; alarm failed to operate, 6%).Present, but operational status unknown — 9%.16When only the subset of incidents where smoke alarms were reported as present was analyzed, smoke alarmswere reported to have operated in 64% of these incidents. The alarms failed to operate in 9% of the incidents, andthe fire was too small to activate the alarm in another 12%. Additionally, the operational status of the alarm wasundetermined in 15% of these incidents.At least 18% of nonconfined fires in multifamily buildings had no smoke alarms present — and perhaps more if fireswithout information on smoke alarms were also considered.17 A large proportion of reported fires without smokealarms may reflect the effectiveness of the alarms themselves; smoke alarms do not prevent fires, but they mayprevent a fire from being reported if it is detected at an early stage and extinguished before the fire departmentbecomes involved. Alternatively, fires in homes without smoke alarms may not be detected at an early stage, causingthem to grow large, require fire department intervention, and thus be reported.18Properly installed and maintained smoke alarms provide an early warning signal to everyone in a home if a fireoccurs. Smoke alarms help save lives and property. The USFA continues to partner with other government agencies,non-government organizations, and fire service organizations to improve and develop new smoke alarm technologies.More information on smoke alarm technologies, performance, training bulletins, and public education and outreachmaterials can be found at ke fire alarms.html. Additionally, theUSFA’s position statement on home smoke alarms is available at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/about/smoke alarmsposition.html.Table 6. NFIRS smoke alarm data for nonconfined multifamily residential building fires (2017-2019)Presence ofsmoke alarmsSmoke alarm operational statusSmoke alarm effectivenessFire too small to activate smoke alarmPresentCountPercent5,1338.0Smoke alarm alerted occupants;occupants responded20,11831.2Smoke alarm alerted occupants;occupants failed to respond1,1351.8No occupants2,6264.13780.62,4773.8Smoke alarm failed to operate3,5695.5Undetermined6,0469.4Smoke alarm operatedSmoke alarm failed to alert occupantsUndeterminedNone present11,46917.8Undetermined11,43017.8Total reportedincidents64,381100.0Source: NFIRS 5.0.Note:The data presented in this table are raw data counts from the NFIRS dataset summed (not averaged) from 2017 to 2019. They do not represent national estimatesof smoke alarms in nonconfined fires in multifamily residential buildings. They are presented for informational purposes.10
TFRS Volume 21, Issue 7 Multifamily Residential Building Fires (2017-2019)Smoke alarms in confined firesLess information about smoke alarm status is collected for confined fires, but the data still give important insightsabout the effectiveness of alerting occupants in these types of fires. Smoke alarms operated and alerted occupantsin 53% of confined multifamily fires (Table 7). In 13% of confined multifamily fires, the occupants were not alerted bythe smoke alarm.19 In 34% of the confined fires, the smoke alarm effectiveness was unknown.Table 7. NFIRS smoke alarm data for confined multifamily residential building fires (2017-2019)Smoke alarm effectivenessCountPercentSmoke alarm alerted occupants84,92053.2Smoke alarm did not alert occupants20,17012.6UnknownTotal reported incidents54,56934.2159,659100.0Source: NFIRS 5.0.Note:The data presented in this table are raw data counts from the NFIRS dataset summed (not averaged) from 2017 to 2019. They do not represent national estimatesof smoke alarms in confined multifamily residential building fires. They are presented for informational purposes.Automatic extinguishing systems in nonconfined multifamily residential building firesAES data are available for both confined and nonconfined fires, although for confined fires, the data are also verylimited in scope. In confined multifamily residential building fires, an AES was present in 1% of reported incidents. 20Full or partial AESs were present in 15% of nonconfined multifamily fires (Table 8). The presence of supp
fires (excluding multifamily buildings) extended beyond the room of origin. ĵ. Smoke alarms were present in 64% of nonconfined multifamily residential building fires. ĵ. Full or partial automatic extinguishing systems (AESs), including residential sprinklers, were present in 15% of nonconfined multifamily residential buildings.
TFRS Volume 12, Issue 9/University Housing Fires (2007-2009) Page 2. Type of Fires. Building fires consist of two major categories of incidents: fires that are confined to specific types of equipment or objects (confined fires) and those that are not (noncon-fined fires). Confined building fires are small fire incidents
These include confined cooking fires, confined chimney or flue fires, confined trash fires, confined fuel burner or boiler fires, confined commercial compactor fires, and confined incinerator fires (incident type 113-118). Losses are generally minimal in these fires, which are assumed to have been limited to the object of origin.
Residential building garage fires occurred most often in the colder months of January and December (at 10 percent each). Additionally, residential building garage fires also peaked in July at 10 percent. Electrical arcing was the most common heat source in residential building garage fires (17 percent). F
large loss building fires were defined as fires that resulted in a total dollar loss of 1 million or more. 4. Even though large loss fires made up less than 1 percent of all building fires from 2007 to 2009, they accounted for 26 percent of all building fire dollar loss during the 3-year period. These fires, though small in number, caused a large
fires as reported to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). The focus is on fires reported from 2013 to 2015, the most current data available at the time of the analysis. 4 Comparisons to one- and two-family residential building fires are noted based on analyses from the “On
From 2013 to 2015, fire departments responded to an estimated 243,700 fires in one- and two-family residences each year across the nation. 1,2. These fires resulted in an annual average of 2,175 deaths; 7,575 injuries; and 5.3 billion in property loss. One- and two-family residential building fires accounted for 64 percent of all residential
Ventilation Airflow Targets in MN Multifamily B uildings section of this manual. This guide takes into account two important factors in working with multifamily clients. First, multifamily buildings have multiple stakeholders including building residents, building maintenance personnel, building management personnel, and building owners and .
Illustration by: Steven Birch, Mary Peteranna Date of Fieldwork: 9-18 February 2015 Date of Report: 17th March 2015 Enquiries to: AOC Archaeology Group Shore Street Cromarty Ross-shire IV11 8XL Mob. 07972 259 255 E-mail inverness@aocarchaeology.com This document has been prepared in accordance with AOC standard operating procedures. Author: Mary Peteranna Date: 24/03/2015 Approved by: Martin .
