NFPA collaborated with fire and life safety officials in two high-risk states this week to raise awareness of fire safety best practices and persistent community hazards. Fire safety summits were held in both Mississippi and Alabama, two Southern states that respectively had the first and fourth highest fire death rates per million population from 2011 to 2015 in the country, according to a 2017 NFPA research report.
Mississippi has the unfortunate title of being the highest-fire-risk state in the country with 57 unintentional residential fire deaths in 2017, and 42 fatalities so far in 2018. In 19 of these cases, smoke alarms were lacking. During the Mississippi session, the Any fire death is a death too many, people need to take extra fire safety precautions when it comes to protecting their homes and family. I believe this training will help accomplish our goal .”
Alabama is another state with significant fire deaths. This trend prompted the Alabama Fire Marshal’s Office, Alabama Fire Chiefs Association, City of Hoover Fire Department, Alabama Fire College and NFPA to host a . The “Turn Your Attention to Fire Prevention” program brought together over 130 fire prevention advocates.
Alabama experienced a particularly devastating year in 2010 when 122 people perished in fires. While the number of lives lost to fire in Alabama dropped to 79 in 2017, the state average has been approximately 90 in recent years – far too many.
For more than 120 years, NFPA has worked to make the world a safer place by educating audiences about how and why fires start. Our website is filled with consumer-friendly fact sheets on a wide range of timely and important topics that will help to keep you, your family, and your neighbors safe from fire and related hazards. Throughout the year, NFPA helps you and your community stay safe through partnerships like those experienced this week in Mississippi and Alabama.