Searching for the Unknown by Rhonda Patton

In 2017, fire departments responded to 357,000 home fires, which resulted in 2,630 fatalities, 10,600 injuries and $7.7 billion in cumulative property loss. data, a house fire occurs every 88 seconds. Find a smoke-free property in Iowa.Īccording to the latest U.S. Iowa has more than 1,300 smoke-free properties are available, and provides a great resource to locate them. Even secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals - dozens that are cancer causing.1 in 20 home structure fires are started by smoking materials.Smoking fires cause nearly 1 in 4 home fire deaths.State Fire Marshal Wood and his team are partnering with the Smoke Free Homes program to encourage homeowners, renters and rental property owners/managers to reduce the risk of cigarette-related fires, and reduce the risk of increased insurance premiums if a fire were to occur. Smoking can contribute to deteriorating health in children and adults, serious injury and fatalities. Cigarettes and other smoking materials are also the leading cause of residential fire deaths in the United States. A cigarette can smolder for up to 30-45 minutes, eventually causing a fire or large amounts of smoke. While watching this video featuring State Fire Marshal Dan Wood and reviewing the list of the deceased, please take note that many of the homes did not have properly working smoke detectors.ĭropped cigarettes or cigarettes improperly disposed are another top fire hazard in the home. Below is a glimpse at the tragedy that is fire related fatalities in Iowa.

However, most of the fatalities occur in the home. Each year, communities across the State of Iowa lose citizens to fires in a multitude of ways.

Searching for the Unknown by Rhonda Patton