Fire fatality numbers down for third straight year

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The 2014 Washington State Fire Fatality Report is now available online at www.wsp.wa.gov/fire/firemars.htm.

Considering 89 percent of fire fatalities occurred in residential occupancies last year, knowing how to protect yourself in the event of a house fire can save your life.

“In as little as two minutes, a fire can become life-threatening. We want to raise awareness about the dangers and frequency of home fire deaths. How we and our communities fare in a fire emergency depends heavily on the planning and preparation that we put into practice,” said State Fire Marshal Chuck Duffy. “Warnings from smoke alarms can provide those critical extra seconds people need to get out of their homes safely. In fire emergency, fast-acting home fire sprinkler systems can dramatically reduce the heat, flames, and smoke produced in a fire; reducing the risk of dying by 80 percent.”

For the third consecutive year, Washington State has continued to see a decrease in fire-related fatalities, with a total of 45 fatalities reported in 2014. Fire-related fatality figures in 2013 were 54 and in 2012 were 63.



To learn how you can prevent home fires, visit the U.S. Fire Administration website at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/index.html.

The data used for this report was received from fire and law enforcement agencies throughout Washington state.

The Office of the State Fire Marshal is a Bureau of the Washington State Patrol, providing fire and life safety services to the citizens of Washington State including inspections of state licensed facilities, plan review of school construction projects, licensing of fire sprinkler contractors and pyrotechnic operators, training Washington State’s firefighters, and collecting emergency response data.