Those under 25 are the most common crime victims, those over 65 the least common. Blacks are almost twice as likely to be robbery victims as whites. There were 4,050 fire fatalities in 1997, and 18. Senior citizens have twice the risk of dying by fire as other age groups, and that rate is shared by those who are under five years of age. One-quarter of fatal fires involving children were started by playing with matches.
Careless smoking is the leading cause of residential fire, followed by arson and heating appliances.