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Fire Death Rate Trends: An International Perspective

By Christopher J. Naum, SFPE on Aug 25, 2011 with Comments 0

Firefighters work at a fire site in Hung Hom, south China's Hong Kong, June 15, 2011. Four were killed and 19 others injured. (Xinhua/Lui Siu Wai)

Fire Death Rate Trends: An International Perspective

The United States still has one of the highest fire death rates in the industrialized world, but our standing has greatly improved. Falling from among the top three nations in terms of the fire death rate two decades ago, the United States now has the tenth highest fire death rate, putting the Nation in the upper half of the countries reviewed.

The report, Fire Death Rate Trends: An International Perspective (PDF, 584 Kb), was developed by USFA’s National Fire Data Center. The analyses in this report reveal the magnitude of the fire death problem; trends in overall rates and differences between the countries are also explored.

The report is part of the Topical Fire Report Series and is based on fire death data from the World Fire Statistics Centre and U.N. Demographic Yearbook population estimate data.

According to the report:

From 1979 to 2007, fire death rates per million population have consistently fallen throughout the industrialized world. The North American and Eastern European regions’ fire death rates have fallen faster than other regions.
From 1979 to 2007, the fire death rate in the United States declined by 66 percent. Today, the United States still has one of the higher fire death rates in the industrialized world, however, its standing has greatly improved.
Japan, a leader in fire safety, shows a slight worsening of fire death rates over the years studied.

Topical reports generally explore facets of the U.S. fire problem as depicted through data collected in the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). Each topical report briefly addresses the nature of the specific fire or fire-related topic, highlights important findings from the data, and may suggest other resources to consider for further information.

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