Top 5 Leading Causes of Home Fires

9/24/2020 (Permalink)

Malfunctioning appliances can spark, resulting in a dangerous fire

Leading Home Fire Causes

Fire is extremely volatile and can spread quickly, consuming your entire home, if not responded to appropriately. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), fire departments in the United States must respond to home fires every 24 seconds. Don't let your home in St. Charles, IL, become part of that statistic. Study the following leading home fire causes to help protect your property.

1. Cooking Fires
Cooktops generate open flames that can quickly spread out of control if they aren't watched carefully. Home cooking fires account for approximately $1 billion in property damage, 550 deaths and 4,820 injuries every year. 

2. Electrical Fires
Malfunctioning appliances can spark, resulting in a dangerous fire. These fires account for 13% of all residential fires, including 18% of all civilian fire deaths. These fires are most likely to occur in the colder months. 

3. Candle Fires
Candles may generate a small flame, but that doesn't mean that they're completely harmless. Most candle fires occur when other household items, such as furniture and curtains, are kept too close to the flame. It only takes a few seconds for them to catch fire and consume the house.

4. Careless Children
Children playing with fire are responsible for $172 million in property damages every year. 83% of these fires are caused by young boys, half of which are under the age of six. Properly fire safety education is vital when it comes to preventing these accidents.

5. Smoking
Smoking is one of the leading causes of home fire deaths. These are often caused when someone carelessly smokes a cigarette, cigar or other product too close to combustible materials.
While the dangers listed above do account for the largest amount of home fire causes, they are nowhere near the only dangers you have to watch out for. Educate yourself on other common fire dangers and make the proper preventative measures. Contact fire remediation experts for more information, or if you need assistance with fire cleaning following an incident.