Residential fire detection

"Residential fires have become a significant problem throughout the U.S. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimates that in 1982 residential fires in the U.S. killed 4,940 persons and resulted in injury to 21,100 more. In addition, these residential fires accounted for an estimated $3,253,000,000 in property damage. Figure 1 shows the causes of residential fires as reported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in its National Fire Incident Reporting System. The leading causes of fires in one-and-two family dwellings were heating (31 percent), cooking (15 percent), and incendiary or suspicious (10 percent). In residential properties, cigarettes are still the leading cause of accidental multiple death fires (those fires that are fatal to three or more persons) by a factor of two to one. Fires resulting from fixed or portable heating equipment-woodstoves, kerosene heaters, gas or electric cooking stoves, etc.,-are the second most common cause of accidental multipledeath fires in residential properties."--First page.David E. Baker (Department of Agricultural Engineering, College of Agriculture) and Paul Adams (Director, Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute, University of Missouri--Columbia)Revised 8/84/10