Preliminary Analysis of Canadian Fire Data Mahendra Wijayasinghe Manager, Research & Analysis Alberta Emergency Management Agency CCFM/FC Meeting – September 2011, Calgary

Outline Canadian Code Structure - 2002 Key CCS variables for analysis Data sources Analysis Fire deaths Fire losses Top-down analysis of fires Areas of fire origin and causes of fire in Canadian homes Observations/conclusions

Canadian Code Structure on Fire Loss Statistics 2002 Edition

Key CCS Variables for Analysis Incident information Year Date/Time Location Response time Property description Major occupancy Property classification Property details Method of construction Year of construction Building height Ground floor area Number of occupants Fire protection features Fire protection device Circumstances contributing to the outbreak of fire Source of Ignition/Igniting Object Material First ignited Act or Omission /Possible Cause Factors relating to the origin and spread of fire Area of origin Level of origin Smoke spread avenues Fire loss details Dollar Loss Discovery of fire and action taken Initial Detection Action taken Performance of automatic ext. equipment Performance of Smoke alarm device Method of fire control Fire casualties Age Sex Status Action &Condition # Deaths/ Injuries

(06-08') (03-07') (08') Data Sources (Year = 2007) DND 75% - 98% of Canadian Pop. DND (06-08') (03-07') (08') Loss Fires Data Flow: Sources > Excel file > SAS data > Analysis/Synthesis> Report

Fire Deaths Province 2007 Population Fire Deaths Fire Death Rate† ON 12,792,900 92 0.7 QC 7,687,400 50 BC 4,309,600 37 0.9 AB 3,512,700 23 MB 1,193,600 28 2.3 SK 1,000,300 21 2.1 NS 935,800 10 1.1 NB 745,500 11 1.5 NT 43,500 4.4 (03-07’) 10.1 Canada* 32,221,300* 276.4 USA** 301,621,157 3,430 † Fire deaths per 100,000 population.

81%

Fires Province 2007 Population Fires Fire Rate ≠ ON 12,792,900 14,310 1.1 BC 4,309,600 7,847 1.8 AB 3,512,700 5,310 1.5 MB 1,193,600 5,983 5.0 SK 1,000,300 3,245 3.2 NS 935,800 659 0.7 NB 745,500 5,302 7.1 NWT 43,500 97 2.2 Canada* 24,533,900 42,753 1.7 DND** 443 USA° 301,621,157 1,557,500 5.1 .

Fire Losses - $ Province 2007 Population $ Losses $Loss/Capita ON 12,792,900 549,390,867 43 BC 4,309,600 436,985,580 101 AB 3,512,700 333,256,887 95 MB 1,193,600 125,895,528 105 SK 1,000,300 59,020,321 59 NS 935,800 19,225,804 21 NB 745,500 26,115,223 35 NWT 43,500 1,766,969 41 Canada* 24,533,900 1,551,657,179 63 DND 1,369,584 USA** 301,621,157 14,639,000,000 49 1.5 billion vs 14.6 billion >> 1 billion has 9 zeros

Top-down Analysis Structural, Vehicle, Outdoor Fires Residential Fires Home Fires Areas of Fire Origin Fire Causes

79% 69% USA: 78% of all structure fires occurred in residential properties in 2007.

89% 93% USA: 75.2% of residential fires in 1 and 2 family dwellings and apartments.

73% 32%

Data sources: BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, NB, NS & NWT (n=13,256)

(USA) Source: Home Structure Fires (2011). Marty Ahrens, NFPA, Fire Analysis Research Division

Data sources: BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, NB, NS & NWT (n=13,461)

(USA) Source: Home Structure Fires (2011). Marty Ahrens, NFPA, Fire Analysis Research Division

Observations… While using the Canadian Coding Structure as the base, various provinces have developed their own coding, each somewhat different from the CCS. Different coding structures poses a challenge to data analysis and interpretation. There are many benefits to using a fire reporting system containing uniform terminology and coding. SAS analysis is possible by modifying SAS programs to handle data differences. Present analysis used codes and, where necessary, text descriptions to sort data in to meaningful groups.