How victims are burned and how apartment fires start may vary, but a blaze often begins in the kitchen. Cooking, particularly frying, is the leading cause of home fires and injuries, according to a National Fire Protection Association report analyzing fires from 2010-2014, which is among the most recent data available. The report says that cooking equipment is responsible for the following: 46 percent of all home structure fires; 44 percent of fire injuries in the home; and 19 percent of fire deaths in the home.
Heating, candles, and smoking are also big causes of home and apartment fires. Heating equipment was involved in one of every five fire deaths at home, according to the NFPA. The culprits can include devices like portable and fixed space heaters, including wood stoves. Smoking is a leading cause of home-fire deaths, and according to the NFPA, two-thirds of such fatalities stem from fires originating in furniture, mattresses, and bedding.
Electrical wiring and lighting equipment installation are also contributors to home fires: 16 percent of fire deaths and 9 percent of fire injuries in the home stem from electrical work, according to the NFPA report.
Landlords have an obligation to abide by the laws designed to ensure that, to whatever extent possible, tenants are safe from fire injury and wrongful death. When landlords don’t follow the rules, and people get hurt or even die, fire injury lawyers help tenants hold them accountable.