Candles Linked to 8,690 Fires Annually Peaking in December

There was an annual average of 8,690 home structure fires originating with candles during 2011-2015, according to data made available in late December by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The fires resulted in averages of 82 civilian deaths, 800 civilian injuries, and $295 million in direct property damage, NFPA reported (bit.ly/2C4MB5z).

It highlighted that the top month for fires was December, accounting for 11% of fires (adjacent November and January were close behind at 10% each). Some of the seasonal trends were that the top days for fires were Christmas, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day; that 18% of December fires started in living/family rooms and 8% in dining rooms (compared to 14% and 3% respectively during the rest of the year); and that 12% of December fires also involved decorations (compared to 4% during the rest of the year).

Some of the non-December-focused findings included:

• Items First Ignited: Mattresses (990 fires), unclassified furniture/utensil (870), curtains/ blinds/drapery/tapestry (760), cabinetry (560), upholstered furniture (460), clothing (460), magazine/newspaper/writing paper (450), unclassified (430), decoration (390), interior wall coverings except drapes (370), linen except bedding (340), floor covering/rug/carpet/mat (300), multiple items at once (290), unclassified soft goods or wearing apparel (240), rubbish/trash/waste (240), appliance housing or casing (180), box/carton/bag/basket/barrel (180), flammable/ combustible liquid/gas/piping/filter (150), other (1,030).

 

• Ignition Causes: Unintentional (8,260), intentional (220), equipment/heat source failure (130).

 

• Contributing Factors: Combustibles too close (5,160), abandoned/discarded items (1,170), unclassified misuse (960), unclassified (400), playing with heat source (330), unattended equipment (260), collision/knock-down/run-over/turn-over (210), other (660).