New Page 1

With 208 barn and stable fires out of 259 Michigan agricultural structure fires in 1998, fires are a farm problem. The leading known cause of residential fires in Michigan was incendiary or suspicious, followed by cooking and heating.

Avoiding Fire Injuries & Death -USA:
FACT #1. Two-thirds of home heating fire deaths are caused by portable or fixed space heaters.
Tip: Use portable heaters during awake hours and away from flammable objects. Follow the manufacturer’s safety directions.

FACT #2. Plan your escape.
Tip: If there’s a fire, people need to be prepared so they can get out fast and avoid panic. That means drawing a plan of how to exit every room with two ways out and deciding on a meeting place outside.

FACT #3. Stop, Drop and Roll if your clothing is on fire.
Tip: Once fire strikes, flames can spread fast to anything that is flammable...including clothing. If clothes do catch fire, immediate action is required. The right response is to drop to the ground and roll over and over to smother the flames.

FACT #4. Electrical fires can have warning signs before a fire erupts.
Tip: Extension cords that are warm are overloaded with too much electrical demand and not sized for the load or length of cord. Extension cords are for temporary use.

FACT #5. Cooking-related fires rank first in home fires and home fire injuries.
Tip: Leaving cooking unintended and grease related fires are leading causes of kitchen and cooking-related fires.

FACT #6. New residential construction should consider automatic sprinklers.
Tip: When a building is protected by sprinklers, the chances of dying in a fire and the average property loss per fire are both cut by one-half to two-thirds, compared to fires where there are no sprinklers. Get the facts on the latest for home sprinklers.

FACT #7. Install smoke alarms outside bedrooms to warn people while there’s time to escape.
Tip: In homes with at least one smoke alarm, the death rate is 45 percent lower than without smoke alarms. Why wait?

FACT #8. Crawl low under smoke.
Tip: If you must exit through smoke, crawling on your hands and knees is a safe way to exit.

FACT #9. Smoking materials continue to be the leading cause of fire deaths in the United States.
Tip: Remind smokers that they need to butt out properly and not smoke in bed or when drowsy.

FACT #10. Matches and lighters do light fires!
Tip: From 1992 to 1996, matches and lighters accounted for 80 percent of all child-playing home fires, 83 percent of corresponding deaths and injuries, and 82 percent of direct property damage. Keep matches and lighters where children can’t get to them.