University Dorm Fires on the Rise

Heat From Powered Equipment a Big Contributor

An estimated average of 3,800 fires occur each year in university dwellings, amounting to $26 million in property loss, according to a special report by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) United States Fire Administration (USFA). The report, “University Housing Fires,” examines the causes and characteristics of fires in college and university residential buildings that include dormitories, fraternity and sorority houses, based on 2005 to 2007 data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS).

There has been an increase in dormitory and university housing fires in recent years, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports. Students bring more items from home to make their college stays more comfortable, including high-powered electronic equipment and appliances. However, the equipment can be dangerous when used improperly or left unsupervised, especially in dormitory rooms, the Commission said.

“The safety of this nation’s students is important to all fire departments facing the challenges presented by today’s higher education institutions,” said Kelvin J. Cochran, U.S. Fire Administrator. “The simple act of cooking by students continues to present dangers when safety is taken for granted.”

Pinpointing the Damage

According to the report, 94 percent of university housing fires occur in dormitories and dormitory-type residences, and 6 percent occur in fraternity and sorority houses. While a substantially smaller portion of university fires in general, fires in sorority and fraternity houses play a larger role in the bigger fires, accounting for 13 percent of nonconfined fires compared to 4 percent of confined fires.

University housing fires peak in September and October when students head to school in the fall, and are most frequent in the evening hours from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., when students prepare snacks or cook meals. The CPSC reported that while cooking-related fires (hot plates, microwaves, portable grills, etc.) account for 83 percent of all university housing fires and is the leading cause, the majority of deaths occur in bedrooms.

As expected, fire incidence is lowest during the months of June through August, corresponding to lower student attendance during summer sessions.

Heat, Cooking Flame Fires

Confined building fires are small fire incidents that are limited in scope, confined to noncombustible containers, rarely result in serious injury or large content losses, and are expected to have no significant accompanying property losses due to flame damage, the report said. Eighty-four percent of university housing fires are confined fires. Confined cooking fires, those confined to the container, account for 77 percent of all university housing fires.

The three main causes of nonconfined university housing fires are intentionally set fires (17 percent), open flames (15 percent), and other unintentional causes (12 percent). Eleven percent of intentionally set nonconfined fires start in bedrooms; fires involving open flame in bedrooms account for 42 percent of all nonconfined university housing open-flame fires; and fires in bedrooms account for 26 percent of other unintentional nonconfined fires.

Candle fires have been of much concern in university housing, the report indicated. One-fifth of nonconfined university housing fires in bedrooms are started by candles. Yet only a small number of these fires are reported to NFIRS. This lack of reporting could be due to campus regulations banning candles combined with the lack of data from confined fires, according to the report.

As a third of the causes of nonconfined university housing fires specifically include equipment, it is not surprising that the leading heat source for those fires is heat from powered equipment (92 percent), the report noted. Placing a heat source too close to combustible objects is the leading contributing factor (17 percent) to ignition of nonconfined university housing fires.

Heat from powered equipment accounts for 49 percent of nonconfined university housing fires. Within this category, radiated or conducted heat from operating equipment accounts for 19 percent of all fires and heat from other powered equipment accounts for 16 percent of all nonconfined university housing fires.

Heat from open flame or smoking materials accounts for 28 percent of nonconfined university housing fires. This category includes candles, cigarettes, lighters and matches.

The third largest category of nonconfined university housing fires pertains to hot or smoldering objects (14 percent). This category includes hot embers or ashes, molten, hot material, and heat sparked from friction.

Effective Smoke Detection

While smoke alarms can be effective in preventing injury and damage from fire, surprisingly, in 6 percent of nonconfined university housing fires where smoke alarms were present, the alarms failed to operate. In 13 percent of confined university housing fires, the smoke alarm effectiveness was unknown. Smoke alarms operated and alerted occupants in 83 percent of these confined fires.

In 9 percent of nonconfined university housing fires, there were no smoke alarms present. In another 9 percent of these fires, firefighters were unable to determine if a smoke alarm was present. Smoke alarms were present in 82 percent of nonconfined university housing fires. Smoke alarms are known to have operated in 63 percent of nonconfined university housing fires.

University housing fires have become the focus of increased attention within state and federal governments, local and state fire departments, affected neighborhoods and communities, and the criminal justice system, the report stated. This is largely because they account for and cause injuries and deaths as well as property damage. The challenge for communities and the fire service is to pinpoint the reasons why university housing fires occur and to address these issues to prevent future fires, deaths, injuries, and severe property damage. Providing students with fire safety education upon their arrival to the universities may help increase awareness and prevent fires.

“University Housing Fires,” was developed by the National Fire Data Center and is a part of the USFA’s Topical Fire Report Series. For information or to comment on the report, visit www.usfa.dhs.gov/applications/feedback/index.jsp.

Loss Measures for University Housing Fires (3-year average, 2005-2007)

Source: NFIRS 5.0
Note: Average loss for fatalities and injuries is computed per 1,000 fires; average dollar loss is computer per fire and is rounded to the nearest $10.

Topics USA Education Universities