U.S. Fire Administration

TOPICAL FIRE RESEARCH SERIES

Volume 1, Issue 17

March 2001 (Rev. December 2001)

Child Fire Casualties

FINDINGS

S Fires and related burns are the third leading cause of unintentional injuries to children.

S Each year, an average of 3,650 children age 14 or younger are injured

or killed in residential fires. Forty percent of these casualties are under

the age of five.

S Children playing fires are the leading cause of child fire casualties. The

younger the child, the more likely child play was involved in the start of

the fire. In short, when children play with fire, they tend to hurt or kill

themselves.

S Mattresses, bedding, clothing not being worn, curtains, and other “soft

goods” are the primary materials first ignited in fires that result in child

casualties.

Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for children from 1 to 21 years

of age. Fire and related burns are the third leading cause of these unintentional injuries.

1

Each year in the United States an estimated 2,800 children age 14 or younger are injured

and 850 killed in residential fires. Of these children, over 40 percent are under the age

five, 70 percent are under the age of 10.2
CAUSES OF CHILD FIRE CASUALTIES IN THE HOME

For adults, the leading cause of fire-related injuries in the home is cooking. For children, however, the leading cause is children playing. See Figure 1.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Incendiary/Suspicious

Children Playing

Smoking

Heating

Cooking

Electrical Distribution

Applicances, A/C

Open Flame

Figure 1. Leading Causes of Fire Injury

(Children Age 14 or Younger)

(3-year average, NFIRS data (1996–98),

residential structures)

Adjusted Percent

As shown in Figure 2, children playing is also the leading cause of child fire fatalities in residential structures, followed by heating and incendiary/suspicious (arson). In

adults, the leading cause of fire death is smoking, followed by heating and arson. In

short, when children play with fire, they tend to hurt or kill themselves.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Incendiary/Suspicious

Children Playing

Smoking

Heating

Cooking

Electrical Distribution

Applicances, A/C

Open Flame

Figure 2. Leading Causes of Fire Fatalities

(Children Age 14 or Younger)

(3-year average, NFIRS data (1996–98), residential structures)

Adjusted Percent
WHAT ARE CHILDREN DOING PRIOR TO BEING INJURED?

Figure 3 illustrates the leading conditions of child casualties prior to their injury.

Approximately 64 percent of children who are killed by fire in residential structures are

asleep at the time the fire ignites. Twenty-two percent are classified as “too young to

act,” which implies that the child did not understand what was happening around him or

her and probably did not take meaningful action to escape the fire.

Figure 3. Leading Conditions Prior To Injury

(Children Age 14 or Younger)

(3-year average, NFIRS data (1996–98), residential structures)

PERCENT OF

CHILD INJURIES

PERCENT OF

ACTIVITY CHILD FATALITIES

Asleep

Too young to act

Awake

40

15

43

64

22

12

WHAT GETS IGNITED?

In one-quarter of fires involving child casualties (injuries and fatalities), the leading

materials ignited are soft goods (including mattresses, bedding, clothing, curtains, and

other fabric). Cooking materials are ignited in 11 percent and upholstered furniture is infueled 8 percent of the time.
TIME OF YEAR

As shown in Figure 4, similar to the trends seen in adult fire casualties, peak months

for child casualties are December and January. These increases are consistent with general trends, where winter sees an increase in structural fires, many of which are caused by

heating. As expected, during the winter months there are an increased number of child

casualties attributed to heating fires. In fact, during January and February heating rivals

children playing for the leading cause of child fire fatalities. Also, for child injuries during June and July, open flame is the leading cause of child injuries. This may be due to

the increased use of outdoor barbecues and fireworks during this time.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Figure 4. Incidence of Child Casualties by Month

(Children Age 14 or Younger)

(3-year average, NFIRS data (1996–98), residential structures) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Fatalities

Injuries
- -

-

-

AGE

As shown in Figure 5, the younger the child, the higher the likelihood they will die

in a fire caused by children playing with fire starting materials. This may be due to the

fact that younger children are less likely to play with fire themselves; rather, perhaps they

are caught in fires started by older relatives or other causes, or that at younger ages, casualties tend to be fatalities rather than injuries as they may be more vulnerable to the effects of fire.

Figure 5. Children Injured/Killed in Children Playing Fires

(3-year average, NFIRS data (1996–98),

adjusted percentages, residential structures)

PERCENT OF

CHILDREN INJURED

IN CHILDREN

PLAYING FIRES

44

32

24

PERCENT OF

CHILDREN KILLED

IN CHILDREN

PLAYING FIRES

70

25

6

AGE OF CHILD

1–4

5–9

10–14

EXAMPLES

Nearly everyday newspaper headlines tell of tragic fires which kill or injure children.

The following are a few recent examples:

S In January 2001, a space heater ignited an early morning fire that killed a 9 -yearold girl and seriously burned her father, who attempted to rescue her. There were no

working smoke alarms in the home.

3

S In March 2000, two boys were playing with matches and hairspray when the hairspray ignited, seriously burning one of them. Though the uninjured child’s mother

claimed it was an accident, the boy was charged with aggravated assault.

4

S In December 2000, four children and a woman were killed in a fire ignited by a

faulty furnace.5

S Also in December 2000, a fire ignited by an overloaded electrical circuit killed a

three -month old sleeping in his crib. Several adults and another infant were able to

escape the 12:20 am fire, however, the baby was apparently trapped in the room

where the fire originated.6

S Again, in December 2000, a fire started by her older brother playing with matches

killed a two -year old girl. The boy was 3 years old.7
-

CONCLUSION

Fires involving children are tragic and often preventable. For more information on

the relationship between children and fire, see Children and Fire in the United States:

1994–1997, United States Fire Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency.

For information on how to prevent children you know from becoming victims of fire,

contact the USFA or your local fire department.

NOTES

1. Childhood Injury Fact Sheet, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury

Prevention and control, December 2000.

2. National estimates are based on 1996–1998 data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System and

the National Fire Protection Association’s annual survey, Fire Loss in the United States.

3. Roedi, Ken. “House Fire Takes Life of 9-year-old Girl,” Montgomery Advertiser, January 2, 2001.

4. Streeter, Kurt. “Mother Says Incident of Child Set on Fire was an ‘Accident,’” The Baltimore Sun,

March 9, 2000.

5. “Five Die in Trailer Fire in NY,” The Associated Press, December 16, 2000.

6. Klein, Rick. “Infant Dies, Another Hurt in R.I. Fire,” The Boston Globe, December 15, 2000.

7. Lafferty, Mike. “Boy Started Fatal Fire,” The Columbus Dispatch, December 15, 2000.

CLICK TO REVIEW THE DETAILED METHODOLOOGY USED IN THIS ANALYSIS

CLICK TO SEE ALL THE REPORTS IN THIS TOPICAL FIRE RESEARCH SERIES