Injuries And Fatalities In Apartment Building Fires

Abstract

Analysis of NFIRS statistics of the numbers, proportions and ratios of injuries and fatalities for bedrooms, kitchens, lounge rooms and other rooms in apartment buildings identifies factors influencing the probability of injury and death in apartment fires. Injuries and fatalities are compared primarily using the injury/fatality ratio (I/F ratio). Factors affecting fire outcomes available in the database include the room of fire origin, the age and sex of the casualties, the time of alarm, the ignition factor and the casualty location at time of ignition, condition before injury, activity at time of injury and condition preventing escape. There are wide variations in the proportions of casualties in various categories between the various room types. These appear likely to represent differences in the behaviour and the types of people involved in fires as casualties in the different rooms. There are differences between injury and fatality outcomes that also relate to the characteristics of the occupants and the uses of the rooms.