NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 79
Investigators at the scene of a residential fire in Georgia that
killed six people, including four children under the age of six.
State officials blamed the fire on an improperly installed wood
stove. (Dan Henry/The Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP)
E
very year, NFPA reports on the most severe
loss-of-life fires in the United States, referred to
here as catastrophic multiple-death fires. These
events are defined as fires that cause five or more
deaths in a home or three or more deaths in a nonhome structure or non-structure fire, such as wildfire
or vehicle fires. Vehicle crashes with a post-crash fire
are included in this study if a fire in the vehicle caused
the crash or the local coroner or medical examiner
confirmed to NFPA that the victims died of thermal
injuries or inhalation of products of combustion, rather
than impact injuries.
Of the estimated 1,342,000 fires that firefighters
in the U.S. responded to in 2016, 21 were considered
catastrophic multiple-death fires. These fires killed
160 people, including 13 under the age of six. Of those
21 fires, 11 occurred in homes and accounted for 65
of the deaths, including 12 victims under the age of
six. Eight fires occurred in non-home structures and
accounted for 65 deaths, including one under the age
of six. Additionally, two non-structure fires accounted
for 30 deaths.
Of the 21 catastrophic multiple-death fires in 2016,
three were considered major loss-of-life fires. The most
severe occurred in California in December, when firefighters responded to a warehouse fire at 11:24 p.m. and
found a two-story, 5,100-square-foot (474-square-meter)
warehouse involved with heavy smoke conditions. The
building, of unprotected-ordinary construction, was
being used at the time as an artist collective with living
and work spaces and a performance area. Firefighters
made an initial interior attack, but due to high heat and
zero visibility they were driven to a defensive attack
from the exterior. Firefighters were able to enter only
after the fire had been extinguished and the structure
shored up. Over the next several days, the bodies of 36
victims were located. Due to a gag order, no further
information has been released by authorities.
N F PA . O R G / J O U R N A L * NFPA JOURNAL
| 79
http://nfpa.org/journal
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - September/October 2017
Contents
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - BB1
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - BB2
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - Cover1
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - Cover2
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 1
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - Contents
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 3
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 4
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 5
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 6
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 7
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 8
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 9
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 10
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 11
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 12
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NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 15
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 16
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 16a
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 16b
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 17
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 18
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NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - Cover3
NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - Cover4
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