NFPA Reports High-Rise Fires Cost Millions a Year

According to a new report released by the National Fire Protection Association, from 2005 to 2009, there was an average of 15,700 reported structure fires in high-rise buildings per year with an associated $235 million in direct property damage. The report cites apartments, hotels, offices and facilities that care for sick as accounting for roughly half of all high-rise fires. Structure fires in these four property classes resulted in $99 million in direct property damage per year. In addition, the report shows that in 2005-2009, high-rise fires claimed the lives of 53 civilians and injured 546 others, per year. It also states that the risks of fire, fire death and direct property damage due to fire tend to be lower in high-rise buildings than in shorter buildings of the same property use, and most high-rise building fires begin on floors no higher than the 6th story. The risk of a fire is greater on the lower floors for apartments, hotels and motels, and facilities that care for the sick, but greater on the upper floors for office buildings. For more information, check out NFPA’s upcoming Fire & Life Safety Conference, where Division Manager of Building Fire Protection Robert Solomon will explore code changes related to high-rise building construction, configuration, systems, planning and evacuation procedures.