For each year from 2012 to 2014, an estimated 5,700 medical facility fires were reported to fire departments in the United States. Nearly half of those, 2,700 fires, were in nursing homes. It is estimated that these fires caused fewer than five deaths, 125 injuries and $13 million in property loss per year. 1
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The average number of fatalities per 1,000 nursing home fires was only slightly lower than the same measure for all other medical facility fires. The number of injuries, however, was more than double that of other medical facilities. 2
| Loss measure | Nursing home fires | All other medical facility fires |
|---|---|---|
Fatalities/1,000 fires | 0.5 | 0.6 |
Injuries/1,000 fires | 27.9 | 11.2 |
Dollar loss/fire | $6,080 | $14,170 |
The majority of nursing home fires are fires that are confined to cooking pots (66 percent). Confined fires are smaller fires that rarely result in death, serious injury or large content losses. 3 Fires in trash bins, incinerators or compactors composed 5 percent of confined fires, while fuel burner or chimney fires accounted for 3 percent.
Nonconfined fires, generally larger structure fires, made up 26 percent of nursing home fires. Source: NFIRS 5.0.
Nursing home fires occurred most frequently during the morning as well as the late afternoon and early evening hours. The fires peaked between the hours of 8 and 9 a.m. These periods of high fire incidence coincide with morning and evening meal preparations. Source: NFIRS 5.0.
Note: Total does not add up to 100 percent due to rounding.
The leading causes of all nursing home fires were:
Source: NFIRS 5.0.
Note: Unknown causes are apportioned.
While cooking was the leading reported cause of nursing home fires overall, it only accounted for 9 percent of all nonconfined nursing home fires. Nonconfined fires are larger, more serious fires.
The leading causes of nonconfined fires were:
Eighty-three percent of all nursing home fires were limited to the object of origin. Only 3 percent extended beyond the room of origin. Source: NFIRS 5.0.
83.3% Limited to object of origin
14.1% Limited to room of origin
1.9% Limited to building of origin
0.7% Limited to floor of origin
0.1% Beyond building of origin
Note: Total does not add up to 100 percent due to rounding.
For more information on nursing homes, including fire safety inspections and quality of care data, please visit: Medicare.gov.
Sources: NFIRS 5.0 and the National Fire Protection Association.
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