According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), a residential fire occurs in the United States every 77 seconds. In 2004 alone, more than 400,000 residential fires caused over 3,000 deaths and nearly 14,000 injuries. And the property damage resulting from these fires reached a staggering $5.9 billion.
To reduce the devastating effects of residential fires, the NFPA recommends better fire safety education, greater use and maintenance of smoke alarms, development and practice of escape plans and, most importantly, wider use of residential sprinklers.