A comparative study assessing factors that influence home fire casualties and fatalities using state fire incident data

The major factors that impact residential fire losses and casualties are relatively well known both on the national level and for any given state. Interestingly, relatively little has been done in comparing fire loss data between states. If state fire loss data are compared, one should be able to identify contributing factors that influence differences in fire losses between states. As an example, it is known that construction standards, regulatory policy, socio-economic factors, etc. all influence the frequency and severity of fires. In this study, subsets of National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) data for the two largest US states by population are studied in order to identify how areas of origin, items first ignited, and heat sources contribute to the odds of casualties or fatalities occurring in fires, as well as to examine differences between the two states for these three factors. Data on residential home fires from 2006 to 2010 were gathered from the Texas and California NFIRS databases, Texas Fire Incident Reporting System and California All Incident Reporting System, respectively, for this purpose. Examination of the datasets separately using logistic regression models emphasized that fires started in the living room or den, fires in which the item first ignited was a flammable liquid, piping, or filter, and fires that were initiated from cigarettes, pipes, and cigars, all have significantly high odds of resulting in both casualties and fatalities for both states. Additionally, logistic regression modeling with interactions between state and area of origin, item first ignited, and heat source indicated that for many categories, the odds of a fire resulting in a casualty in Texas is roughly 1.5 times higher than the same fire in California.