Curtis, Martha. Analysis Of Multiple-Death Fires In the United States During 1985. Fire Journal. July 1986.

Abstract: This article provides statistics, charts, and graphs of fatal fires that occurred in 1985. The amount of fatal fires throughout the country increased by ten percent from 1984. While fatal fires accounted for only 0.01 percent of fires in the United States, they accounted for 20 percent of deaths caused by fires. Fires with fatalities that were thought to be incendiary were responsible for 13 percent of fire deaths.

The article also breaks the statistics down into regions. The Northeast reported the most fire fatalities with 5.9 deaths per million population. The South followed the Northeast region, with 4.9 deaths per million people. The West had the lowest rate for fire fatalities reporting only 2.7 deaths per million population. The article suggests degrees of urbanization, population density, and age of the structures as possible reasons for increased fire deaths in the Northeast.

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