National Center Quick-Look
Fire-Related Deaths in Infants, Children & Young Adults
Published October 2018
The National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention collects fire-related information in the NFR-CRS.
From 2004 – 2016, there were 1,344 fire-related deaths of infants children and young adults reviewed by CDR teams.
Race/Ethnicity:
48% White
33% African American
4% Other/Multi-racial
15% Hispanic or Latino
Sex:
5 in 10 boys
5 in 10 girls
Age:
49% under age 5
27% ages 5-9 years
24% ages 10 and over
Circumstances surrounding deaths:
9 in 10 occurred in a child’s home or relative’s home
7 in 10 had supervision at the time of the incident
6 in 10 involved insufficient supervision* at the time of incident
3 in 10 had a history of child maltreatment prior to death
2 in 10 had child protective services action taken due to the death
*Of children who were reported to have supervision at the time of incident. Insufficient supervision includes sleeping and distracted supervisors as well as those impaired y drugs, alcohol, disability and illness.
Place of Incident:
6 in 10 were rental properties
5 in 10 Single Home
2 in 10 Apartment/Duplex
1 in 10 Mobile Home
1 in 10 Others
Other Characteristics:
5 in 10 fatal fires resulted in more than one child death
5 in 10 had smoke detectors present
3 in 10 were started by matches, lighters, cigarettes or candles
2 in 10 were started by electrical
Please visit the following links for important prevention resources from our partners:
Fire Safety Checklist: https://www.safekids.org/sites/default/files/documents/2016_fire_safety_checklist.pdf
Preventing Fire and Burns Webinar:
https://www.childrenssafetynetwork.org/webinars/successful-strategies-preventing-fire-burn-related-injuries-among-children
My House Fire Escape Checklist:
https://www.safekids.org/other-resource/home-fire-escape-plan-pdf
Fire and Burn Protection Guide:
https://www.childrenssafetynetwork.org/sites/childrenssafetynetwork.org/files/FireSafetyOct2015.pdf
Made possible in part by Cooperative Agreement Numbers UG7MC28482 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
These data represent approximately 70% of the cases entered into NFR-CRS. For more information about the Child Death Review Case Reporting System or about the data contained in this Quick-Look, please visit https://www.ncfrp.org/wp-content/uploads/NCRPCD-Docs/NCFRP_Quick_Looks_Analysis.pdf