SFPE: Americans incorrectly feel safer from fires at home

A nationwide survey conducted by SFPE reveals that 79% of Americans feel safer from fires at home than in a public building. Because the U.S. government  report home fires outnumber all other building fires 3:1, these results are surprising.

By Consulting Specifying Engineer Staff February 8, 2008

A nationwide survey conducted by the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) reveals that 79% of Americans feel safer from fires at home than in a public building with an additional nine percent feeling equally safe in both locations.

These results are suprising because

Public buildings are subject to tough fire-safety regulations and inspections, whereas most homes are not.

“Most public buildings and commercial office buildings are much better protected than homes,” said SFPE’s Engineering Program Manager, Chris Jelenewicz. “This is because fire protection engineers implement fire-safety strategies and technologies into building the design and construction of commercial buildings.”

Fire protection engineers are responsible for designing ways to protect people from fire. They use the latest technologies to design systems that control fires, alert people to danger, and provide means for escape. Fire protection engineers also conduct fire safety research on consumer products and construction materials and investigate fires to discover why protective measures failed, and how those measures could have been designed more effectively.

Similar results were found in a 2005 survey conducted by SFPE, where 87% of Americans believed they were safer from fires at home than in a public building.

“It’s disheartening to see that public perception is not changing,” Discovery Education to create and release new high school chemistry lessons that teach students about the science of fire—a project that was funded by the Department of Homeland Security. As a result of this project, every high school student in the United States will have the opportunity to better understand the dangers of home fires.”

Along with the false sense of security at home, the survey also found that 44%

As part of Engineering Week , Feb. 17-23,students to the exciting world of engineering.

The survey, commissioned Society of Fire Protection Engineers and conducted in January 2008 by Synovate, polled more than 1,000 American adults. The findings have a margin of error of plus