U.S. Fire Administration/National Fire Data Center


Establishing a Relationship 

Between Alcohol and 

Casualties of Fire 

Topical Fire Research Series, Volume 3 – Issue 3 

July 2003 
T O P I C A L F I R E R E S E A R C H S E R I E S


Alcohol and Casualties of Fire 

Establishing a Relationship Between 

July 2003	 Volume 3, Issue 3 

Findings 

H Alcohol abuse is a leading risk factor for unintentional injuries, the fifth leading 

cause of death in the United States. The overall costs resulting from unintentional 

injuries and deaths totaled $517 billion in 2001. Nearly 7% of the adult population 

meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse. 

H Nearly half of adult emergency room patients treated for trauma are alcohol 

impaired. 

H Fires are the fourth leading cause of unintentional injuries; studies indicate that up 

to 40% of residential fire death victims are alcohol impaired. 

H Burn victims with high alcohol blood levels are more likely to die than burn 

victims with no alcohol impairment. 

H Children are not exempt from the effects of alcohol and fire, primarily through no 

fault of their own. Fire fatalities in these instances can be attributed to the caregivers’ impaired judgment. 

H Smoking combined with alcohol abuse exacerbates the risk of fires, fire injuries, 

and fire deaths. 

This report links alcohol abuse with the risk of unintentional injuries, with specific focus on fire injuries where 

alcohol may be a contributing factor. Alcohol abuse and resulting unintentional injuries impose a burden on individuals, those around them, and society as a whole. Alcohol abuse is a leading risk factor for unintentional injury 

and is associated with increased risk of injury in automobile crashes, falls, fires, drowning, homicides, and 

suicides.1,2,3 

USE AND EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL 

Alcohol is a major contributing factor to unintended injuries in the United States.4 Studies have estimated that 

nearly half of alcohol-related deaths are the result of injuries sustained from motor vehicle crashes, falls, fires, 

drownings, homicides, and suicides.5 Alcohol depresses the central nervous system, potentially to the point of stupor, coma, and death; and individuals who consume large quantities of alcohol experience disordered thought 

patterns, impaired judgment, impaired perception, and a decrease in generalized motor control. 

Alcohol is widely used in U.S. society. It is heavily advertised and is embedded in everyday life, including 

religious traditions.6,7 Although the 20-year trend (1980–99) in the rate of alcohol consumption is down 12%,8 

this downward trend does not minimize the potential devastating effect that alcohol may have on abusers. 

The role of alcohol as a risk factor for unintentional injury stems primarily from reduced cognitive function, 

impaired physical coordination and performance, and increased risk-taking behavior. Injuries tend to be more serious among the alcohol-impaired, because alcohol affects the physiology of the victim.9 Alcohol consumption has 

consequences not only for the health and well being of those who drink but, by extension, the lives of those 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security S Federal Emergency Management Agency 

United States Fire Administration S National Fire Data Center 

Emmitsburg, Maryland 21727 

http://www.usfa.fema.gov/inside−usfa/nfdc/pubs/tfrs.shtm 
around them. A classic example of this is the intoxicated driver who fails to fasten his seat belt. This individual not 

only risks greater injury to himself, but as a result of his impaired senses is a high risk to other drivers and 

pedestrians. 

The following statistics give a glimpse of the magnitude of alcohol use in the United States: 

(1) Approximately 14 million people (7% of the adult population) meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol 

abuse or alcoholism.10 

(2) More than half of all adults have a close family member who is or had been an alcoholic.11 

(3) Approximately one−fourth of children younger than 18 is exposed to alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence 

in the family.12 

(4) Between 20% and 30% of patients seen in hospital emergency departments have alcohol problems.13 

UNINTENTIONAL INJURIES 

Unintentional injuries are the fifth leading cause of death in in the United States, behind heart, cancer, cerebrovascular, and chronic lower respiratory diseases.14 Over 97,000 people died from unintentional injuries in 1999. 

Of those, 3,348 resulted from fire and burns (Figure 1). 

The national trend of unintentional injuries has declined 43% over the past 40 years. This downward trend may 

be attributed to local, state, and national prevention and educational campaigns; to better technology (e.g., airbags 

in automobiles, smoke alarms and built-in fire protection systems); and to improvements in product safety and 

stricter building codes. Nevertheless, wage losses, medical expenses, property damage, employer costs, fire losses, 

and other expenses related to unintentional injury and fatalities ran to an estimated $516.9 billion in 2001.15 

FIGURE 1. 1999 DEATH RATE (PER 100,000


POPULATION) BY TYPE OF ACCIDENT


Motor vehicle accident 

Accidental poisoning/exposure to noxious 

substances 

Accidental drowning and submersion 

Accidental exposure to smoke, fire, and 

flames 

Accidental discharge of firearms 

CAUSE 

35.9 

15.5 

4.5 

1.3 

1.2 

0.3 

NUMBER RATE

97,860 

42,401 

12,186 

3,529 

3,348 

824 

All accidents 

ALCOHOL’S INVOLVEMENT IN UNINTENTIONAL INJURIES 

Alcohol abuse is a leading risk factor for unintentional injuries. The short−term physiological effects of alcohol 

diminish motor coordination and balance and impair perception and judgment. Alcohol is also thought to perpetuate accident−prone behavior. Studies have estimated that nearly half of adult trauma patients receiving treatment in 

emergency rooms have been injured while under the influence of alcohol.16 In 1997 for example, traffic crashes 

involving alcohol killed more than 16,000 people, alcohol was involved in 39% of all fatal traffic crashes, up to 

77% of deaths from falls involved alcohol, and the victim had been drinking in up to 47% of drowning deaths.17 

The end result of acute alcohol intoxication is carelessness. 

ALCOHOL AND FIRE CASUALTIES 

Fires are the fourth leading cause of unintentional injuries in the United States, after motor vehicle crashes, poisonings, and drownings.18 In 2000, more than 3,500 people died of unintended exposure to smoke, fire, and 
flames.19 Scientists have estimated that alcohol is involved in 40% of all residential fire deaths.20 One study on published medical examiner results revealed that 42% of unintentional fire and burn fatalities were intoxicated (with a 

blood alcohol level greater than or equal 0.1).21 Another study found that alcoholics in Toronto have a fire death 

risk 9.7 times that of the city’s population.22 Further, a study of decedents in North Carolina found that 53% (69 of 

130) adult victims were intoxicated,23 and in Alabama, more than half of the victims older than 17 tested positive 

for alcohol.24 Of the 374 fire fatalities in Minnesota from 1996 to 2002, 133 (36%) were found to have positive 

blood alcohol concentrations.25 

Chronic alcohol use has been shown to disrupt the immune system response to a significant burn.26 Because 

alcohol and burns each the suppress immune response, the synergistic effect is an extremely suppressed immune 

response.27,28 Burn victims who had been drinking are three times more likely to die than burn victims with no 

alcohol present in their blood streams.29 

Public perception of alcohol’s contribution to fatal fire injuries may be underestimated.30 This suggests that 

because public awareness of alcohol’s contribution to fire fatalities and injuries is underestimated, the public pays 

too little attention to the potential fire risk posed by alcohol abuse. 

Children. Children are not exempt from the harmful effects of alcohol, primarily through no fault of their own 

(e.g., involvement in traffic accidents). In 1998, children up to age 14 were involved in 5% of unintentional fire 

injuries, but this same group accounted for 20% of all fire deaths and 14% of all fire injuries.31 One study found 

that, of juvenile fatalities examined, 15% died in fires where the surviving adult was impaired by alcohol or 

drugs.32 “Case after case revealed that fire deaths of children were attributed to the parents’ failure to perceive and 

respond to a fire emergency because of impairment of their sensory, judgment, or physical functions by alcohol 

consumption.”33 Although anecdotal, the inference that caregivers who are alcohol impaired contribute to children 

casualties is compelling. 

Smoking. Smoking is the fifth most frequent cause of residential fire, the leading cause of fire deaths, and the 

second most common cause of fire-related injuries.34 Smoking combined with alcohol is often identified as factors 

in fire deaths in residences,35 where the majority of fire fatalities occurs. Smokers consume more alcohol than do 

nonsmokers. Alcohol abusers and smokers are an especially dangerous combination since smoking materials represent a ready-made fire threat while at the same time alcohol consumption decreases the chances of detecting, mitigating, and escaping a fire. 

Data from Minnesota is particularly revealing. Smoking, the leading cause of fatal fires in Minnesota, accounted 

for 26% of fire fatalities (94 deaths) from 1996 to 2002. Of these fatalities from smoking-related fires, 62% (58 of 

94) had a blood alcohol level meeting or exceeding the state standard of 0.1. 

CONCLUSION 

Fire casualties are emerging as an unintentional injury subset highly influenced by problematic drinking behaviors. Because the public’s perception of this problem may be low, it may be possible to minimize fire risk by 

increasing the awareness of those who drink and those who are surrounded by regular drinkers. Educational campaigns warning the public of the dangers of drunk driving have been successful, and the same can be done to shed 

light on the subtle dangers of alcohol and fire. For further information, contact your local fire department or the 

U.S. Fire Administration. 

To request additional information, comment on this report, or review the detailed 

methodology used in this analysis, visit http://www.usfa.fema.gov 

Notes: 1.	 Hingson, R. W., Heeren, T., Jamanka, A., Howland, J., “Age of Drinking Onset and Unintentional Injury Involvement After


Drinking,” Journal of the American Medical Association, September 27, 2000.


2.	 Cherpitel, C. J., “Epidemiology of Alcohol-Related Trauma,” Alcohol Health Res World 16(3):191–196, 1992. 

3.	 10th Special Report to Congress on Alcohol and Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National


Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, June 2000.


4.	 Healthy People 2010, http://www.healthypeople.gov/document/html/uih/uih_4.htm. 
5.	 Centers for Disease Control, NCIPC. Injury Fact Book 2001–2002. 

6.	 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Fire Administration, National Fire Data Center, Establishing a 

Relationship Between Alcohol and Casualties of Fire, October 1999. 

7.	 Hingson, loc. cit. 

8.	 U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census, The Statistic Abstract of the United States – 2002, 122nd edition, 2002. 

9.	 FEMA, loc. cit. 

10. Grant, B. F., Harford, T. C., et al., “Prevalence of DSM-IV Alcohol Abuse and Dependence: United States, 1992,” Epidemiologic 

Bulletin No. 35., Alcohol Health Res World 18(3): 243–248, 1994. 

11. Dawson, D. A., Grant, B. F., “Family History of Alcoholism and Gender: Their Combined Effects on DSM-IV Alcohol Dependence and Major Depression,” J Stud Alcohol 59(1): 97–106, 1998. 

12. Grant, B. F., “Estimates of U.S. Children Exposed to Alcohol Abuse and Dependence in the Family,” Am J Public Health, 90(1): 

112–115, 2000. 

13. Centers for Disease Control. Alcohol, Injuries, and the Emergency Department, Injury Fact Book 2001–2002 

(http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/fact_book/09_alcohol_%20injuries_%20ED.htm). 

14. U.S. Department of Commerce, loc. cit. 

15. National Safety Council, Report on Injuries in America, 2001 (http://www.nsc.org/library/rept2000.htm). 

16. Dunn, C. W., Donovan, D. M., Gentielello, L. M., “Practical Guidelines for Performing Alcohol Interventions in Trauma 

Centers,” Journal of Trauma, 42(2), February 1997, 299–304. 

17. “Alcohol-Related Injury and Violence,” A project of the trauma foundation, Funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 

(http://www.tf.org/tf/alcohol/ariv/index.html). 

18. U.S. Department of Commerce, loc. cit. 

19. NCHS Mortality Data 2000. 

20. Marshall, S. W., Runyan, et al., “Fatal Residential Fires: Who Dies and Who Survives?,” Journal of the American Medical Association, 

279:1633–7, 1998. 

21. Smith, G. S., Branas, C. C., Miller, T. R., “Fatal Nontraffic Injuries Involving Alcohol: A Meta-Analysis,” Annals of Emergency Medicine, 

33:699–701, 1999. 

22. Schmidt and De Lint, “Causes of Death of Alcoholics,” Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 33(1), 1972, 171–185. 

23. Marshall, loc. cit. 

24. McGwin, G. Jr., Chapman, V., et al., “The Epidemiology of Fire-Related Deaths in Alabama, 1992–1997,” J Burn Care 

Rehabil., 21(1 Pt 1):75–3 [Abstract], Jan–Feb 2000. 

25. Minnesota Office of the State Fire Marshal. 

26. Kawakami, M., Meyer, A. A., et al., “Chronic Ethanol Exposure Before Injury Produces Greater Immune Dysfunction After 

Thermal Injury in Rats,” Journal of Trauma, 30(1), January 1990, 27–31. 

27. Kawakami, M., Switzer, B. R., et al., “Immune Suppression After Acute Ethanol Ingestion and Thermal Injury,” Journal of Surgical 

Research, 51(3), September 1991, 210–215. 

28. “Chronic Ethanol Intake and Burn Injury: Evidence for Synergistic Alteration in Gut and Immune Integrity,” Journal of Trauma, 

38(2), February 1995, 198–207. 

29. Hingson, R. W., Howland, J., “Alcohol and Non-Traffic Unintentional Injuries,” Addiction, 33:88:877–883 [Abstract], 1993. 

30. Girasekm, D. C., Gielen, A. C., Smith, G. S., “Alcohol’s Contribution to Fatal Injuries: A Report on Public Perceptions,” Annals of 

Emergency Medicine, Volume 39, Number 6, June 2002. 

31. U.S. Fire Administration, Fire in the United States: 1989–1998, Twelfth Edition, FA-216, August 2001. 

32. Marshall, loc. cit. 

33. Erskine, R., Murphy, P., Langton, J. A., “The Effect of Ethyl Alcohol on the Sensitivity of Upper Airway Reflexes,” Alcohol & Alcoholism, 29(4), July 1994, 425–431. 

34. U.S. Fire Administration, loc. cit 

35. Smith, G.S., Branas, C. C., Miller, T. R., “Fatal Nontraffic Injuries Involving Alcohol: A Meta-Analysis” Annals of Emergency Medicine: 

699-701, 1999.