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Fires of the Eighties -- Are They Different? A popular allegation--that today's fires 1980, annual plastics production topped 37 contain more lethal gases or bum "hotter and billion pounds--almost a 20-fold increase faster" than those or the '40s because of the since 1952. greater amounts of synthetics involved--is not supported by fact Carbon monoxide, the Opponents of plastic materials wantpeople to proven killer in fires, is just as much of a believe that removing synthetics from our problem in fires now as it was then. The buildings will eliminate most of the hazards 1941 Handbook of Fire Protection states: of a modem fire. But the facts are clear: sharply increased use of plastics has certainly "A great majority offire deaths are believed not made the fire fatality problem worse. to be due to the effects of smoke and hot gases produced in fires. Carbon monox Why People Die in Fires ide. . .and various other poisonous gases may be generated in fires involving materials What is common to the tragedies listed be ordinarilyfound in buildings." low? In each, conditions existed which al lowed a fire to become very large very Eight years earlier a study by the National quickly. It does not matter what is burn Fire Protection Association stated: ing--wood or plastics--if conditions are pre sent that allow rapid fire growth, tragedy "Every year in the United States about results. 10,000 people lose their lives because of fires. It has been observed and com mented upon that many of these victims are not burned but succumb to U.S. Fire Death Rate vs. Plastics Production the effects of 'smoke' and gas." (G.E. Ferguton, "Fire G*et," NFPA Quarterly, Vet. 27, No. 2, p. 110, 1933.) nr OnMim mMm pMpto BMwm U.S. Fire Death Rate Declining In 1939, the U.S. population of approximately 132 million people suffered 10,000 deaths in fires, a death rate of 76 per million people. By 1980--after our population almost doubled-^-fire deaths decreased to 6,500 people, the death rate dipping to 29 per million. Yet, at the same time, the fuel load content (amount of combustible materials) present in buildings increased dramatically. EfraPWiOate Mitm* Pbi *aelan Aaitoi Social factors stand out as strong contributors to fire deaths. During this 40 year period--when the fire death rate dropped 62 percent--use of plastic materials also grew astronomically. Plastics were not commercial products in the U.S. in 1933. During 1952, only two billion pounds of plastics were consumed in the U.S. By Our habits as consumers have changed since 1950. Our houses are larger. They are carpeted and contain more furnish ings. In short, they are filled with com bustibles. They are built with large open spaces through which fire and -over- The Vinyl Institute, A Division of The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. Wayne Interchange Plaza II, 155 Route 46 West, Wayne, New Jersey 07470, (201) 890-9299 CTL016755 smoke spread easily. They are better insulated ways, improperly designed heating, ventilating and hold in more heat--whether it is at 70F or and air conditioning systems and smoke spread 1200F (the temperature that typically can be ing through elevator hoistways. reached in a fire). Also, due to the increase in the number of families where both adults * Lack of detection and suppression sys work, many homes stand vacant during the tems contributes to fire deaths. day. Fires that start in these homes bum longer before they are reported. In addition, Fatal fires often start during early morning according to National Fire Protection Asso hours (about 40 percent of fires start between ciation (NFPA) estimates, one-third of all Fire midnight and 4 a.m.) when people are sleeping deaths in the United States are due to fires soundly. Effective detection and alerting sys started by cigarettes. Most of these fires start tems are especially important and are the most in upholstered furniture or bedding in single promising solution to the fire problem today. homes or apartments. Over two-thirds of the These systems include: deaths occur in fires which start at night, when most victims are asleep. Smoke Detectors. In 1976, less than five percent of the homes in the United States had a Alcohol consumption increases the chance of smoke detector. Today, as a result of support dying in a fire. The senses are dulled and by the fire community and public interest resistance to toxic fire gases--such as carbon groups, over 67 percent of all homes have one monoxide--is reduced. The ability to act or more smoke detectors. A review of 699 quickly, decisively and correctly is inhibited. fires in residences protected with smoke detec If intoxicated, people are less likely to be tors showed that detectors reduced the potential aroused by smoke or fire, and thus, less able for severe injury or death in 90% of the fires to escape. that occurred when all occupants were asleep. Failure to comply with building codes is evident in fires with large loss of life. Violations of code requirements have occurred in almost every fire with large loss of life. An outstanding example is the MGM Grand Hotel fire in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 21, 1980. In that fire, in which 85 persons lost Fire Related Deaths in Buildings of Public Assembly Data 1940 1942 1946 1946 1977 1980 1980 1981 1982 Construction Rythm Club Cocoanut Grova Night Club LaSaHo Hotal Wlnaeofl Hotal Bavarly HMa Suppar Club MGM Grand Hotal Stouffars Inn, Harrison, NY Las Vagas Hilton Hotal Wastchasa Hilton Hotal Numbar of Fatalltlaa 207 492 61 119 165 85 26 8 12 their lives, some of the factors cited by the NFPA that contributed to the loss of life were: lack of automatic fire extinguishment (no sprinklers in the part of the building where the deaths occurred), unprotected vertical open ings, substandard enclosure of interior stairs, lack of smokeproof towers and exit passage- Sprinkler Systems. Fire safety experts believe widespread use of sprinklers in homes could be the single most important factor in reducing loss of life and property from fires. New, fast-response sprinkler systems using plastic pipe have been developed as a result of research sponsored by the U.S. Fire Administration. In a series of tests, these systems reduced fire property losses by 85 percent and provided a life safety environment by controlling toxicity levels and temperature in the fire environment The new systems are less expensive than traditional sprinkler systems, which puts them within reach of most homeowners. What's the Solution? Experts from government and the fire service community agree that greater emphasis should be placed on fire safety education and on the increased use ofdetection and suppres sion systems. The wholesale removal of plastics from our environment is not the answer. In fact, many plastic materials that are used in construction and furnishings actually can help stop fires from starting and from spreading. Fire prevention programs which focus on these approaches will prove the most effective way to reduce the current U.S. fire death rate. September 1986 CTL016756