U.S. Multiple-Death Fires for 2005

NFPA Journal, Sep/Oct 2006 by Badger, Stephen G

Proper use of fire protection equipment could have prevented most losses.

ON SEPTEMBER 21, storm clouds formed along the Texas and Louisiana coast, setting the stage for the largest multiple-death fire in 2005.

Hurricane Rita was the second Category 5 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico in a month. All eyes were on this large and dangerous storm and on September 22, evacuation orders were posted along the Gulf Coast of Texas.

Following evacuation orders, a nursing home in Bellaire, Texas (in the Houston area) prepared. Families picked up most of the residents, but two busloads of residents and staff members were dispatched to sister facilities in Dallas.

One bus loaded with 38 patients and 6 health care workers left the nursing home at 3 PM. On board the bus were two patients using oxygen, 18 oxygen cylinders, wheelchairs, and walkers were stored below the passenger compartment. The second bus departed a short time later. Gridlocked highways turned the four-hour trip into a 15-hour to 16-hour ordeal.

Between 4 AM and 6 AM on September 23, one bus had a flat right rear tire and the driver pulled off the road. He called for assistance and the tire was fixed.

Once on the road, at 6:08 AM, a passerby flagged down the bus driver by pulling in front of the bus and slowing down, at which time another passerby informed the bus driver that the bus was on fire.

In his rear-view mirror, the driver saw fire coming from the right rear wheel well. He pulled over and exited the bus to examine the situation.

Then, he, the health-care workers and several passersby started to evacuate the patients. The oxygen cylinders exploded and fire spread very rapidly.

Tragically, 23 of the 38 patients died in the blaze, and many of the survivors were injured. The cause of the fire is still under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (see sidebar).

This one just one of the 20 catastrophic multiple-death fires that killed 134 people (23 of them children under the age of six) in 2005 compared to 2004 when 32 fires killed 152 people. These 20 catastrophic-multiple fires and the 134 deaths are the lowest in recent years. The number of fires was down 12, or 38 percent, and the number of deaths down 18, or 12 percent. Catastrophic multiple-death fires are fires that kill five or more people in a residential property, or three or more in a nonresidential or nonstructural property.

In the U.S., there were an estimated 1,602,000 fires in 2005 (396,000 in residential properties, 115,000 in nonresidential, and 1,091,000 in nonstructural properties). There were 3,675 civilian deaths (3,055 in residential properties, 50 in non-residential and 570 in nonstructural properties). The catastrophic multiple-death fires accounted for .001 percent of these fires and 3.6 percent of the deaths.

Most of these fires, and the losses that resulted, could have been prevented with simple changes, including use and maintenance of smoke alarms and sprinklers.

Catastrophic Residential Fires

In 2005, the largest number of catastrophic multiple-death fires occurred in residential structures. These 13 residential fires consisted of 11 in single-family dwellings (two of which were manufactured homes), one in a two-family house, and one in a 50-unit apartment building. Residential occupancies accounted for 65 percent of the catastrophic multiple-death fires and their 80 deaths represent 60 percent of the total deaths in catastrophic multiple-death fires. Twenty-diree children under the age of six perished in these fires.

Ten of the 13 catastrophic residential fires occurred between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Sixty-four people died in these fires, or 80 percent of all who died in residential catastrophic multiple-death fires. Table 1 shows the available details for each fire.

The largest loss of life residential fire killed 11 people, including three children under the age of six. This fire occurred in March in a two-story single-family townhouse.

A 14-year-old woke to find his bed on fire. Once he told his uncle, the uncle removed the blanket and attempted to extinguish the fire. He then moved the burning mattress downstairs in an attempt to throw it outside. A second adult relative also came downstairs and attempted to open the front door but was not able to because of a deadbolt lock with which the family was unfamiliar. The uncle placed the mattress on some packed cardboard boxes and attempted to open the door. As the boxes started to burn, fire and smoke forced the two to exit using a rear door, which they left open. A third relative, carrying a small child, exited the structure by way of a second-story window. The adults went around to kick open the front door, but fire was already quickly engulfing the front room and spreading up the stairway to the second story. The victims were all found in second-story bedrooms and a bathroom. The fire began when the bedding was exposed to a candle on the windowsill. The family was just moving into the house and the power was not yet turned on, so candles were used for light. It is unknown if there were any smoke