Surveillance and Prevention of Residential-Fire Injuries
Sue Mallonee, R.N., M.P.H., Gregory R. Istre, M.D., Mark Rosenberg, M.D., M.P.P., Malinda Reddish-Douglas, M.P.H., Fred Jordan, M.D., Paul Silverstein, M.D., and William Tunell, M.D.
Background The majority of severe and fatal burn injuries resultfrom residential fires. We studied the effectiveness of a smoke-alarm–giveawayprogram in the prevention of burn injuries in an area with ahigh rate of such injuries.
Methods We collected data on burn injuries in Oklahoma Cityfrom September 1987 through April 1990. The target area forthe intervention was an area of 24 square miles (62 km2) withthe highest rate of injuries related to residential fires inthe city. We distributed smoke alarms door to door in the targetarea and then surveyed alarm use and function in a sample ofthe homes that had received an alarm. We also calculated therates of fire injury per 100,000 population and per 100 firesfor both the target area and the rest of the city before andafter the smoke-alarm giveaway.
Results Before the intervention the rate of burn injuries per100,000 population was 4.2 times higher in the target area thanin the rest of Oklahoma City. An initial survey indicated that11,881 of the 34,945 homes in the target area (34 percent) didnot have smoke alarms. A total of 10,100 smoke alarms were distributedto 9291 homes; 45 percent were functioning four years later.The annualized fire-injury rates declined by 80 percent in thetarget area during the four years after the intervention (from15.3 to 3.1 per 100,000 population), as compared with a smallincrease in the rest of the city (from 3.6 to 3.9 per 100,000population). There was also a 74 percent decline in the targetarea in the injury rate per 100 fires (from 5.0 to 1.3; rateratio, 0.3; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.1 to 0.6), ascompared with a small increase in the rest of the city.
Conclusions A targeted intervention involving a smoke-alarm–giveawayprogram can reduce the incidence of injuries from residentialfires.
Source Information
From the Injury Prevention Service (S.M., M.R.-D.) and the Epidemiology Service (G.R.I.), Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oklahoma City; the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta (M.R.); and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (F.J.), Baptist Medical Center of Oklahoma (P.S.), and Children's Hospital of Oklahoma (W.T.) — all in Oklahoma City.
Address reprint requests to Ms. Mallonee at the Injury Prevention Service–0307, Oklahoma State Department of Health, 1000 NE 10th, Oklahoma City, OK 73117-1299.
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