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The INDEPENDENT, July 6, 2011
Can you guess the most common cause of household fires?
U.S. fire departments re-
sponded to an estimated annu-
al average of 373,900 home
structure fires from 2005-2009
according to new research
from the National Fire Protec-
tion Association (NFPA). Ac-
cording to the report, cooking
fires remain the leading cause
of home structure fires and
home fire injuries, and smoking
materials continue to be the
leading cause of home fire
deaths.
During the five-year period
covered by the report, roughly
one in every 310 households
per year had a reported home
fire. Each year, these fires
caused an estimated average
of 2,650 civilian deaths, 12,890
civilian injuries, and $7.1 billion
in direct property damage. On
average, seven people died in
U.S. home fires every day.
One-quarter of the home fire
deaths resulted from fires that
originated in the bedroom, 24
percent from fires in the family
room, living room, or den, and
15 percent from fires starting in
the kitchen. Though only 20
percent of reported fires oc-
curred between the hours of
11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., half
of the deaths were caused by
fires reported during this time.
“These statistics are a sad
reminder that fire is still a dead-
ly threat and we must do more
to prevent the needless deaths
and losses,” said Lorraine Car-
li, NFPA’s vice president of
communications. “Properly in-
stalled and maintained fire pro-
tection devices, such as smoke
alarms and residential fire
sprinklers, can help to prevent
most fire deaths.”
Almost two-thirds (62%) of
home fire deaths resulted from
fires in which no smoke alarms
were present at all (38%) or
smoke alarms were present but
did not operate (24%). The re-
port also referenced John
Hall’s recent report, U.S. Expe-
rience with Sprinklers, which
found that having wet pipe
sprinkler systems in the home
reduces chances of dying in a
fire by 83 percent.
The report is based on data
from the U.S. Fire Administra-
tion’s National Fire Incident Re-
porting System and the Nation-
al Fire Protection Association’s
annual fire department experi-
ence survey.
Top ten fire safety tips from
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NFPA:
• Stay in the kitchen when
you are frying, grilling, or broil-
ing food. If you must leave,
even for a short time, turn off
the stove.
• Keep fixed and portable
space heaters at least three
feet from anything that can
burn. Turn off heaters when
you leave the room or go to
sleep.
• Ask smokers to smoke out-
side. Have sturdy, deep ash-
trays for smokers.
• Keep matches and lighters
up high, out of the reach of chil-
dren, preferably in a cabinet
with a child lock.
• Replace electric cords that
are cracked, damaged, have
broken plugs, or have loose
connections.
• Keep candles at least one
foot from anything that can
burn. Blow out candles when
you leave the room or go to
sleep.
• Make a home fire escape
plan and practice it at least
twice a year.
• Install smoke alarms on
every level of your home, in-
side bedrooms and outside
sleeping areas. Interconnect
smoke alarms throughout the
home. When one sounds, they
all sound.
•Test smoke alarms at least
once a month and replace con-
ventional batteries once a year
or when the alarm “chirps” to
tell you the battery is low. Re-
place any smoke alarm that is
more than 10 years old.
• If you are building or re-
modeling your home, install
residential fire sprinklers.
Sprinklers can contain and may
even extinguish a fire in less
time than it would take the fire
department to arrive.
NFPA is an international
Fast Service
503-805-2663
O.M.M.P. card required
Visit us online at www.goweed.org
503-901-1705
nonprofit organization, founded
in 1896, whose mission is to re-
duce the worldwide burden of
fire and other hazards on the
quality of life by providing and
advocating consensus codes
and standards, research, train-
ing, and education. Visit
NFPA’s website at http://www.
nfpa.org for more information.
Health care laws passed July 1
Landmark health care legis-
lation enacted July 1 will im-
prove the health of Oregoni-
ans, improve the quality of care
and reduce cost. House bill
3650, a centerpiece of Gover-
nor Kitzhaber’s health care
transformation agenda, will be-
gin to shift the focus and finan-
cial incentives of Oregon’s
health care system from after-
the-fact acute care to preven-
tion, wellness and community-
based management of chronic
conditions.
“The legislature’s action is
critical to ensuring that Orego-
nians get better health care at
a lower cost,” said Governor
Kitzhaber. “The strong biparti-
san support for this landmark
legislation demonstrates how
effective we can be addressing
the real issues facing Oregon
when Democrats and Republi-
cans come together.”
House bill 3650 sets the
stage for the creation of com-
munity-based
Coordinated
Care Organizations (CCO) that
will focus on prevention and
patient outcomes by integrating
physical health, mental health,
and oral health. CCOs will be
required to manage costs with-
in a global budget. Over the
next six months, workgroups
will be putting together a plan
for CCOs for the February leg-
islature.
Earlier this month the legis-
lature passed Senate Bill 99,
establishing the Oregon Health
Insurance Exchange Corpora-
tion to develop a plan for Ore-
gon’s exchange. Through the
Exchange, individuals and
See Health on page 16
Columbia County
Mental Health
800-294-5211
-----------------
Suicide Hotline
1-800-
784-2433
or
1-800-273-
TALK(8255)
Domestic Abuse
Hotline
503-397-6161
or
866-397-6161
-----------------
Military Helpline
888-HLP-4-VET
(888-457-4838)