Firefighters extinguish a chimney
fire.Why? For over 200 years the fire service in
America has focused on suppression efforts despite
overwhelming evidence that suppression seldom
succeeds. Perhaps it's the fear of losing the
hero image, or just a strong resistance to change,
but whatever the reason, we are losing the battle
against fire compared to the rest of the world.
Every year in the United
States over 5,000 people are killed and more
than 12 BILLION dollars of property is damaged
or destroyed by fire. The young and old account
for a disproportionate share. Mobility and lack
of understanding regarding the power and speed
at which fire grows is a significant factor.
Cooking, arson, and heating are
the three leading causes of fire in the United
States and in Minnesota. Cooking and heating
are everyday, multiple events and therefore
are almost always on the list.
However, cooking related deaths
are very low as well as heating. Arson, the
second leading cause of fire, and arguably the
first given better investigations and reporting
is also the second leading cause of fire death.
Number one you ask, smoking. Despite
accounting for less than 2% of all fires, smoking
accounts for almost 25% of all fire deaths.
Again, the issue is mobility and often the victim
will smoke in bed or on the couch and fall asleep.
This compares to cooking activities where the
individual is typically awake.
The fire department offers a number
of classes, programs and services to help make
the people we serve safer. Click on the links
below for more information.
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