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East Bay Hills Fire: Oakland-Berkeley, California
"The largest dollar fire loss in United States history occurred in the East Bay Hills, within the California cities of Oakland and Berkeley, between October 19 and 22, 1991. Twenty-five lives were lost and more than 3,000 structures were destroyed by a wildland-urban interface fire in one of the most heavily populated metropolitan areas of the North American continent. The fire completely over-whelmed the firefighting forces of the area, consuming everything in its path, and was only stopped when the Diablo wind conditions abated. The wind had threatened to drive the fire across the entire city of Oakland. The factors that set the stage for this disaster were identified long before the fire occurred, and the potential consequences had been predicted by fire officials. Nevertheless, their warnings went unheeded, and the measures that could have reduced the risks were not implemented. More than one billion dollars in damage resulted from a fire that exceeded the worst expectations in the most concerned fire professionals. It was a fire that demonstrates how natural forces may be beyond the control of human intervention and should cause a renewed look at the risk of wildland-urban inter¬face fire disasters."
United States Fire Administration; United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
1991-10
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Evacuation of Nanticoke, Pennsylvania Due to Metal Processing Plan Fire [March 24, 1987]
"On March 24, 1987 shortly after midnight, an electrical fire at a metal processing plant in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania generated a cloud of potentially toxic fumes which caused 15,000 residents to be rousted from sleep and evacuated from their homes. Emergency workers operating from local and county Emergency Operations Centers staged an extraordinarily smooth and successful evacuation, including the relocation of over 250 hospital and nursing home patients. The disaster showcased the value of good emergency operations planning, training, coordination, and practice as well as the wisdom of pre-fire plans." Pictures and maps are included in this report.
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency; United States Fire Administration
Stambaugh, Hollis
1987-03-24
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Tire Recycling Facility Fire: Nebraska City, Nebraska [January - February 2002]
"The members of the Nebraska City Fire Department were dispatched to a reported chimney fire at a housing complex for the elderly at 02:54 hours on the morning of Wednesday January 23, 2002. The first engine company to arrive on the scene discovered that the fire was actually located a few blocks away at the EnTire Recycling Center. The facility chips up old tires and produces a raw product that is used to manufacture synthetic athletic turf and playground surfaces. […] Cooling water was directed on the silos and liquid nitrogen was used in an attempt to smother the fire. An explosion occurred during the afternoon of the first day and injured thirteen firefighters. Four of the firefighters sustained injuries serious enough to require hospitalization. Fears of a subsequent explosion and a continuing possibility of collapse resulted in the firefighters adopting a defensive mode of operations. The fire was not fully extinguished until February 3, 2002 and required the efforts of emergency responders from over thirty fire and EMS agencies. Final extinguishment was accomplished by Williams Fire and Hazard Control, a private contractor renowned for the extinguishment of oil well and flammable liquid tanks fires. The firm was hired by the Environmental Protection Agency. The fire posed a significant environmental threat due its proximity to the Missouri River and the toxic byproducts of the burning tires. State and Federal environmental officials monitored the extinguishment effort throughout the incident. During the incident, portions of the community had to be evacuated on two occasions due to a potential for additional explosions and the toxicity of the smoke."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency; United States Fire Administration
Cook, John Lee
2002-02-01?
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Fire Department Response to Biological Threat at B'nai B'rith Headquarters, Washington, D.C. [April 1997]
"On April 24, 1997, the District of Columbia Fire/EMS [Emergency Medical Services] Department (DCFEMS) responded to the Washington, D.C. offices of B'nai B'rith, an international Jewish organization, for a suspicious package. The package had been mailed to B'nai B'rith and contained a Petri dish labeled with wording which led local emergency responders to suspect the package might contain Anthrax and Yersinia, both disease-causing bacteria that have been used as biological weapons. Several occupants of the building complained of dizziness and headaches, additional factors that indicated the possible presence of a chemical agent as well. The DCFEMS established a perimeter around the site where the package was located, attempted to protect occupants of the B'nai B'rith building by isolating them in place, established a command post, and set up hazardous material decontamination procedures. After consultation with numerous national agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Biosafety Branch, responders engaged in hazmat operations to secure the package and its contents, which were then sent to a federal laboratory in Bethesda, Maryland. Laboratory tests revealed that the contents of the package were nonhazardous. […] Though there have been several chemical and biological incidents over the past few years, this incident received national media exposure and was broadcast live on CNN and other news networks, generating discussions among emergency responders as to the actions that took place. Though the threat was a hoax, the incident revealed many lessons for the fire service to share in preparation for any future threats."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency; United States Fire Administration
Stern, Jeff
1997-04-24?
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Fire and Explosions at Rocket Fuel Plant, Henderson, Nevada [May 4, 1988]
"A series of explosions on May 4, 1988, near the City of Henderson, Nevada, claimed two lives, injured approximately 372 people including 15 firefighters, and caused damage estimated over $100 million. The explosions affected a large portion of the metropolitan Las Vegas area and caused the activation of disaster plans by several agencies. Considering the magnitude of the explosions, the loss of only two lives and the fact that only a few of the injuries were critical can be described as very fortunate. The incident presented tremendous risk and unusual challenge to the fire departments involved, but they managed the incident with relatively minor casualties. The lives of most of the plant employees were saved by their decision to evacuate the plant, prior to the major explosions. This and other key issues are summarized in the table on the following page."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency; United States Fire Administration
Routley, J. Gordon
1988-05-04?
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Swimming Pool Chemical Plant Fire, Springfield, Massachusetts [June 17, 1988]
"One of the most challenging problems facing the fire service today is the combined fire and hazardous/toxic chemical incident. Decisions have to be made regarding the timing of fire fighting activities with respect to evacuation priorities. In many cases, a decision must be made as to whether or not to fight the fire at all. Where the chemicals or products involved are water reactive, fighting the fire may make matters worse, endangering the firefighters or the general population. Just such a situation presented itself to Chief Raymond Sullivan of the Springfield, Massachusetts Fire Department and the city's hazardous materials incident response team on Friday, June 17, 1988. The incident occurred in that part of an 87-year-old industrial building housing a company that produced water treatment chemicals for swimming pools. Rain leakage wetted chemicals that released chlorine along with sufficient heat to cause ignition of ordinary combustibles. In the course of the incident, large amounts of chlorine gas were released, triggering several levels of evacuation involving more than 6,000 people. The fire resulted in the collapse of a portion of the roof. The fire and corrosive action of the chlorine gas resulted in almost complete loss of the contents of both floors and caused significant structural damage prompting razing of the second floor. At the time this report was written it was not known whether the building would be reoccupied."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency; United States Fire Administration
Custer, Richard L. P.
1988-06-17?
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Industrial Plastics Fire: Major Triage Operation, Flint Township, Michigan [November 29, 1988]
"On Tuesday, November 29, 1988 a fire occurred in a one-story Flint Township, Michigan factory that made polyurethane automobile bumpers. Chemicals used in manufacturing the bumpers and a large quantity of the bumpers burned. The fire resulted in about 96 people being checked at the hospital and the destruction of part of the metal building housing the factory, at a loss of $3,000,000. The primary problem in fighting this fire was' toxic smoke and the problem of having to access the fire from downwind. A county 'fire coordinators' system of incident command was successfully used to coordinate the activities at the fire and an evacuation of 150 people."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency; United States Fire Administration
Copeland, Tom D.
1988-11-29?
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National Fire Incident Reporting System: Complete Reference Guide
From the Introduction: "This reference guide is a component of the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Version 5.0. It provides both instructions for reporting data to NFIRS Version 5.0 and an understanding of the data elements collected by the system. It also serves as a reference for the coding of the data. NFIRS is a tool that fire departments use both to report fires and other incidents to which fire departments respond and to maintain records of these incidents in a uniform manner. NFIRS 5.0 is a modular, all-incident reporting system designed by the U.S. Fire Administration, a part of the Department of Homeland Security, with input from the fire service and other users of the data."
United States Fire Administration; United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
2010-07
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Alive on Arrival: Tips for Safe Emergency Vehicle Operations
This document provides tips for emergency responders to prevent injuries or death from crashes involving emergency vehicles and personal vehicles responding to and returning from fires and other emergencies. Some tips include: "[1] Ensure that you are qualified and fully capable of
operating the emergency vehicle you are driving.
[2] Drive with due care. Operate an emergency vehicle
as you would if all those in your vehicle and on
the road around you are your family.
[3] Slower means safer. A good safety guideline is
not to exceed the posted speed limit. Drive even
slower when road conditions or visibility are poor."
United States Fire Administration; United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
2010-01
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Operational Lessons Learned in Disaster Response
"The final two decades of the 20th century foreshadowed the future of the fire service in America. Forces
of natural disasters - earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes and acts of terrorism unleashed against
densely populated centers highlighted the role of firefighters in first response. The tragedies that arose from
the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and Hurricane Katrina proved the value of firefighters in the emergency management
equation. This occurred simultaneously with the self-examination by the fire service of its own
record of occupational safety and an effort to learn from its mistakes.
The fundamental doctrine of emergency management encompasses specific phases of human intervention
(i.e., preparation, mitigation, response, recovery) intended as a means of focusing our effort to withstand,
recover and restore from disaster. Significant disasters arise from extreme physical forces of nature, failures
of technological systems, and acts of terrorism. Emergency managers use the term "all-hazards" to denote
such events. Any of these events may require a response from first responders. However, first responder
agencies may lack the capacity to mitigate the hazards posed by such disasters or may be rendered inoperable
to some degree by the catastrophic impact of the event.
From that assumption, the USFA [United States Fire Administration] conducted research to identify gaps and needs in first responder training
and resources and to present solutions that serve to better prepare local-level fire services for all-hazard
events and to interact with federal resources. Local fire departments routinely handle the majority of
fires, rescues and medical emergencies without outside assistance. We generally categorize these as low-risk/high-frequency
events. However, a given fire department will typically have less experience with
large-scale natural disasters, technological accidents, and terrorist attacks. We categorize these events as
high-risk/low-frequency, any of which may impact the operational capacity of a fire department."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency; United States Fire Administration
2015-06
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Evacuation of Personnel and Equipment from an Extreme or Catastrophic Hurricane: Developing a Decision Making Process
From the abstract: "The purpose of this research was to identify and implement a process of making the decision to evacuate personnel and equipment in the event of an extreme or catastrophic hurricane."
United States. Department of Homeland Security; United States Fire Administration
Teolis, Mark B.
2009-06
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Fire Risk in 2011
"The risk from fire is not the same for everyone. In 2011, 3,415 deaths and 17,500 injuries in the U.S. were caused by fires. These casualties were not equally distributed across the U.S. population, and the resulting risk of death or injury from fire is not uniform -- it is more severe for some groups than for others. Much can be learned from understanding why different segments of society are at a heightened risk from the fire problem. […] Risk is a factor, element or course of action involving uncertainty. It is an exposure to some peril, and it often implies a probability of occurrence, such as investment risk or insurance risk. In terms of the fire problem, risk is the potential for injury or death of a person or damage or loss of property as a result of fire. This topical report focuses on how fire risk, specifically the risk of death and injury, varies with age and how other demographic and socioeconomic factors weigh upon that risk."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency; United States Fire Administration
2015-01
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America's Fire and Emergency Services Leader: Strategic Plan Fiscal Years 2014-2018
From the Strategic Framework, page 9: "This Strategic Plan was created to help USFA [United States Fire Administration] achieve its vision and mission. The plan provides both strategic direction and operational focus. America's fire and emergency services progress is greatly enhanced by USFA's efforts to take the lead on issues important to the fire service. USFA will continue to partner with fire and emergency services and stakeholders to achieve the desired outcomes outlined in this Strategic Plan. Our goals are the foundation for our work leading toward a Fire Safe America."
United States Fire Administration; United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
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Fire Safety Checklist for Older Adults
This document provides seven tips to help older adults protect themselves and other loved ones since "older people are at special risk for death and injury from fires." The document's fire safety tips can also be used as a checklist for older adults to help prevent and/or prepare for a fire.
United States Fire Administration; United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
2010-05
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U.S. Fire Administration, Fire Service Operations for the Southeastern Tornados--April 2011
This report consolidates reviews of fire department and emergency medical services (EMS) activities in Alabama and Georgia during the April 2011 tornados. The report provides an insight into the procedures and needs of local fire and EMS agencies during disasters. Five overarching areas were repeatedly identified throughout the review: lack of disaster preparedness, need for more disaster management training, need for closer coordination and communication with State and Federal recovery staff, effective use of Incident Command System (ICS) in supporting operations, and need for Public Works to participate, learn, and practice ICS. The report also includes 66 specific observations and recommendations as well as four operational priorities.
United States Fire Administration; United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
2012-04-01?
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Fire Service Operations for the Southeastern Tornados - April 2011
"On April 27, 2011, the southeastern United States experienced a devastating series of tornados starting in Mississippi, hitting Alabama and Georgia very hard, and trailing off into Tennessee. The dollar loss has been roughly tallied at $6 billion in insured losses and a total of over $10 billion for all losses. An estimated 336 lives were lost in the region's tornados and related events, with 239 of those in Alabama. At least 10,000 homes were heavily damaged or destroyed and dozens of public facilities were rendered inoperative. Many areas that were isolated by road closures and power outages extended over 2 weeks in some rural areas. At least five tornados were rated at EF5 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF Scale), and, if laid end to end, the tornado tracks in this region would stretch across the country! A series of meetings was held in the summer of 2011 to look at fire department and emergency medical services (EMS) organization activities in Alabama and Georgia during the tornados. Over 50 representatives of impacted departments attended and each had an opportunity to respond to specific questions as well as provide a free range of their own inputs. This report condenses those meetings and inputs and provides an insight into the routines and needs of local fire and EMS agencies in disasters."
United States Fire Administration; United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
2012-04
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Firefighter Fatalities in the United States in 2010
"This report continues a series of annual studies by the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) of onduty firefighter fatalities in the United States. The specific objective of this study is to identify all onduty firefighter fatalities that occurred in the United States and its protectorates in 2010 and to analyze the circumstances surrounding each occurrence. The study is intended to help identify approaches that could reduce the number of firefighter deaths in future years."
United States Fire Administration; United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
2011-09
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Firefighter Fatalities in the United States in 2013
From the background: "For 37 years, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) has tracked the number of firefighter fatalities and conducted an annual analysis. Through the collection of information on the causes of firefighter deaths, USFA is able to focus on specific problems and contribute to efforts aimed at finding solutions to reduce the number of firefighter fatalities in the future. This information is also used to measure the effectiveness of current programs directed toward firefighter health and safety. Several programs have been funded by USFA in response to this annual report. For example, USFA has sponsored significant work in the areas of general emergency vehicle operations safety, fire department tanker/tender operations safety, firefighter incident scene rehabilitation, and roadside incident safety. The data developed for this report are also widely used in other firefighter fatality prevention efforts. In addition to the analysis, USFA, working in partnership with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF), develops a list of all on-duty firefighter fatalities and associated documentation each year." From the Introduction: "This report continues a series of annual studies by USFA of on-duty firefighter fatalities in the United States. The specific objective of this study is to identify all on-duty firefighter fatalities that occurred in the U.S. and its protectorates in 2013 and to analyze the circumstances surrounding each occurrence. The study is intended to help identify approaches that could reduce the number of firefighter deaths in future years."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency; United States Fire Administration
2014-11
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EMS Safety: Techniques and Applications
"This manual on Emergency Medical Services Safety has been developed to assist EMS providers in the reduction of line-of-duty injuries, illnesses and fatalities. It provides a framework for developing programs that will create an appropriate margin of health and safety during the performance of their duties."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency; United States Fire Administration
1994-04
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U.S. Fire Administration/Technical Report Series: Power Off to Hard-Wired Detector in Nine-Fatality House Fire
"A fire originating in the first floor of a two-story, wood-frame house with two rental units in Peoria, Illinois, killed two adults and seven children on April 11, 1989. Two other adults and a teenager were injured, though they were able to escape from the burning house onto a porch roof from a second story window. This was the worst life-loss fire in Peoria for at least the past three decades."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency; United States Fire Administration
Carpenter, Daniel J., Jr.; Jennings, Charles
1989-04
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Nonresidential Building Fires (2014-2016)
"Each year, from 2014 to 2016, fire departments responded to an estimated 100,300 fires in nonresidential buildings across the nation. These fires resulted in an annual average of 90 deaths; 1,350 injuries; and $2.4 billion in property losses. Although national estimates for 2014 to 2016 show that nonresidential building fires represented only 8 percent of all fires, 3 percent of fire deaths and 9 percent of fire injuries, they accounted for 20 percent of the total dollar loss from all fires. Nonresidential building fires can also have a significant economic impact on a community as they may lead to lost jobs and closed businesses. In addition, because many nonresidential buildings are places where a large number of people gather, they hold the greatest potential for a mass casualty incident to occur."
United States Fire Administration; United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
2018-07
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Highway Vehicle Fires (2014-2016)
"This topical report addresses the characteristics of highway vehicle fires as reported to the U.S. Fire Administration's (USFA) National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) from 2014 to 2016, the most recent data available at the time of the analysis. NFIRS data is used for the analyses throughout this report"
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency; United States Fire Administration
2018-07
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Hotel and Motel Fires (2014-2016)
"While fires and fire losses still occur in hotels and motels, these changes were largely successful in reducing hotel and motel fires and losses. Each year, from 2014 to 2016, an estimated 3,900 hotel and motel fires, a subset of residential building fires, accounted for only 1 percent of the residential building fires responded to by fire departments across the nation. These fires resulted in an annual average of 15 deaths, 100 injuries, and $100 million in property losses. This report addresses the characteristics of hotel and motel fires, as reported to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). The focus is on fires reported from 2014 to 2016, the most recent data available at the time of the analysis. NFIRS data is used for the analyses throughout this report."
United States Fire Administration; United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
2018-07
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Residential Building Electrical Malfunction Fire Trends [August 2010]
"Fire Estimate Summaries present basic data on the size and status of the fire problem in the United States as depicted through data collected in the U.S. Fire Administration's (USFA's) National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). Each Fire Estimate Summary addresses the size of the specific fire or fire-related issue and highlights important trends in the data. [...] National estimates for residential building electrical malfunction fires for 2008, the most recent year data are available, are: [1] Fires: 29,100 [2] Deaths: 380 [3] Injuries: 1,075 [4] Dollar Loss: $1,214,700,000".
National Fire Data Center (U.S.); United States Fire Administration
2010-08
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Topical Fire Report Series, Volume 10, Issue 1 - University Housing Fires
This document describes data that has been collected on university fires and their causes. The findings also include information on what the extent of the damage usually was, as well as the effectiveness of smoke alarms.
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency; United States Fire Administration
2010-06
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Fire Death Rate Trends: An International Perspective [July 2011]
"Historically, the fire death rate in the United States has been higher than most of the industrialized world. This has held true for both fire deaths and dollar-loss rates. The causes of the United States prominent standing in this area are not entirely clear and have been the subject of debate for some time. To compound the issue, the United States is comparatively safety conscious and one of the most technologically-advanced nations in the world. To have such high fire death rates is perplexing for a country that ranks so highly in those two areas. While today the United States still has one of the highest fire death rates in the industrialized world, its standing has greatly improved. Falling from among the top three nations in terms of the fire death rate two decades ago, the United States now has the tenth highest fire death rate per million people, putting the Nation in the upper half of the countries reviewed. This report explores the nature of the United States fire death problem and compares it to those of 23 other industrialized nations. The comparison reveals the magnitude of the fire death problem and differences between the nations. Trends in overall rates and disparities between countries are also explored."
National Fire Data Center (U.S.); United States Fire Administration
2011-07
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One- and Two-Family Residential Building Basement Fires (2010-2012)
"These topical reports are designed to explore facets of the U.S. fire problem as depicted through data collected in the U.S. Fire Administration's National Fire Incident Reporting System. Each topical report briefly addresses the nature of the specific fire or fire-related topic, highlights important findings from the data, and may suggest other resources to consider for further information."
United States. Department of Homeland Security; United States Fire Administration
2015-03
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Civilian Fire Fatalities in Residential Buildings (2011-2013)
"These topical reports are designed to explore facets of the U.S. fire problem as depicted through data collected in the U.S. Fire Administration's National Fire Incident Reporting System. Each topical report briefly addresses the nature of the specific fire or fire-related topic, highlights important findings from the data, and may suggest other resources to consider for further information. Also included are recent examples of fire incidents that demonstrate some of the issues addressed in the report or that put the report topic in context."
United States Fire Administration; United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
2015-07
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Fire-Related Firefighter Injuries Reported to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (2010-2012)
"These topical reports are designed to explore facets of the U.S. fire problem as depicted through data collected in the U.S. Fire Administration's (USFA's) National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). Each topical report briefly addresses the nature of the specific fire or fire-related topic, highlights important findings from the data, and may suggest other resources to consider for further information. Also included are recent examples of fire inci-dents that demonstrate some of the issues addressed in the report or that put the report topic in context." The findings from this report are: "[1.] From 2010 to 2012, an estimated 70,450 firefighter injuries occurred annually. Of these injuries, 31,550 occurred on the fireground, and 4,150 occurred while responding to or returning from an incident. [2.] The majority of fire-related firefighter injuries (87 percent) occurred in structure fires. In addition, on average, structure fires had more injuries per fire than nonstructure fires. [3.] Injuries resulted in lost work time for 42 percent of firefighters with reported fire-related injuries. [4.] Fires resulting in firefighter injuries were more prevalent in July at 12 percent and peaked between the hours of 1 and 4 p.m. [5.] Overexertion/Strain was the cause of 27 percent of reported fire-related firefighter injuries."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency; United States Fire Administration
2014-11
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Civilian Fire Fatalities in Residential Buildings (2010-2012)
"From 2010 to 2012, civilian fire fatalities in residential buildings accounted for 82 percent of all fire fatalities. This topical fire report focuses on the characteristics of these fatalities as reported to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) from 2010 to 2012. NFIRS data is used for the analyses presented throughout this report. Civilian fire fatalities by definition involve people not on active duty with a firefighting organization who die as a result of a fire. These fatalities generally occur when an individual is escaping, sleeping or unable to act during a fire. Annually, from 2010 to 2012, an estimated 2,465 civilian fire fatalities resulted from 1,700 fatal fires in residential buildings and an estimated 366,900 residential building fires. Fatal fires are those fires where one or more fatalities occur. This report focuses on the characteristics of civilian fire fatalities (e.g., gender, race and age of the victim; activity prior to death) in residential buildings as opposed to the characteristics of the fires (e.g., fire spread, factors contributing to ignition, alerting/suppression systems) from which these fatalities occurred. For the purpose of this report, the term 'residential building fires' is synonymous with 'residential fires.' The term 'residential fires' is used throughout the body of this report; the findings, tables, charts, headings and endnotes reflect the full category 'fires in residential buildings' or 'residential building fires.'"
United States Fire Administration; United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
2014-08
