Restaurant Building Fires Report

New report From USFA and FEMA  - Where does your NFIRS information go, here is one example.

Restaurant Building Fires Emmitsburg, MD – The Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) United States Fire Administration (USFA) issued a special report today examining the characteristics of restaurant building fires. The report, Restaurant Building Fires, was developed by USFA's National Fire Data Center and is based on 2007 to 2009 data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS).

Apr 12: This new report from USFA examines the characteristics of restaurant building fires from 2007 to 2009, during which an estimated 5,900 fires occurred annually causing $172 million in property loss.

According to the report:

• An estimated 5,900 restaurant building fires occur annually in the United States, resulting in an estimated average of 75 injuries and $172 million in property loss.
• The leading cause of all restaurant building fires is cooking at 59 percent and nearly all of these cooking fires (91 percent) are small, confined fires with limited damage.
• While cooking is the leading cause of all restaurant building fires as well as the smaller, confined restaurant building fires, electrical malfunction is the leading cause of the larger, nonconfined restaurant building fires.
• Nonconfined restaurant building fires most often start in cooking areas and kitchens (41 percent).
• Deep fryers (9 percent), ranges (7 percent), and miscellaneous kitchen and cooking equipment (5 percent) are the leading types of equipment involved in ignition in nonconfined restaurant building fires.
• Smoke alarms were reported as present in 44 percent of nonconfined restaurant building fires. In addition, full or partial automatic extinguishment systems, mainly sprinklers, were present in 47 percent of nonconfined restaurant building fires.

Download HERE

• Restaurant Building Fires (PDF, 829 Kb)

LODD–Two

Notice of Firefighter Fatality: Becker, MS

Jacob Anthony Carter of the Becker-Athens Volunteer Fire Department in Becker, MS has died as the result of an on-duty incident that occurred on 2011-04-17

Initial Summary:  
While responding to a mutual aid fire call, Firefighter Carter suffered multiple traumatic injuries when his 2002 Ford Explorer ran off the road, overturned and struck a tree. Firefighter Carter passed away at the North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo, MS. Investigation into the accident continues. Incident Location: McCullen Road and Fowlke

Notice of Firefighter Fatality: Eastland, TX

Gregory Mack Simmons of the Eastland Volunteer Fire Department in Eastland, TX has died as the result of an on-duty incident that occurred on 2011-04-15

Initial Summary:  
While seeking safety from an area being overrun by flames during wildland firefighting operations, Firefighter Simmons passed away from blunt force trauma consistent with being struck by a vehicle. Reports indicate that while he and other firefighters were trying to escape the fire, Simmons exited his apparatus and ran into or near a smoke obscured roadway and was struck by an unknown vehicle. Investigation into the fatal incident continues by local and state authorities. Incident Location: County Road 323, Carbon/Eastland, TX (USNG: 14S NA 21 70) 

AFG Funding

From  FDNN site - On Monday, February 1st, the Obama Administration released its Fiscal Year 2011 budget proposal, detailing requested funding levels for programs and offices in the federal budget.
The approximately $3.8 trillion budget includes $45.6 billion for homeland security spending.  Although the proposal increases funding in some areas, it contains significant cuts to firefighter grant programs.  
The budget includes $305 million for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program.  Although an increase from the $170 million contained in last year's budget proposal, the figure falls short of the $390 million appropriated by Congress for the current fiscal year.  The grant program, which received approximately $3.1 billion in requests in Fiscal Year 2009, provides funding for critical equipment, training, and apparatus directly to local fire departments.  It also provides grants for fire prevention and safety programs and firefighter health and safety research. Full Story HERE

LODD

Notice of Firefighter Fatality: Tar Heel, NC

David Hunsinger, Jr. of the Tar Heel Rural Volunteer Fire Department in Tar Heel, NC has died as the result of an on-duty incident that occurred on 2011-04-07

Initial Summary:  
Firefighter Hunsinger, while responding to a brush fire call in his personal vehicle, was involved in a collision and passed away from injuries sustained from the accident.