TRENTON — The state Department of Community Affairs’ (DCA) Division of Fire Safety issued “Fire in New Jersey 2008,” last week, an annual publication that provides fire and emergency incident data for 2008 including statistics on Cape May County fire companies.
In this county, six firefighters sustained injuries with one classed as of moderate severity resulting in lost time, one severe injury resulting in lost time with four were treated by a physician.
The cause of the injuries: one exposure to a hazard, one fall, one slip/trip, one struck or assaulted by person/animal/object, one undetermined cause and two classed as “other.”
A total of 26 fire companies in this county responded to 10,723 incidents in 2008.
Cape May County is reported to have an estimated population of 84,246, with 35 fire stations, 123 career firefighters, 825 volunteer firefighters, 18 minority firefighters, 33 female firefighters covering an area of 255 square miles.
Incidents by month in 2008: January: 714, February: 617, March: 662, April: 680, May: 1,053, June: 1,184, July: 1,408, August: 1,308, September: 945, October: 733, November: 698 and December: 721.
Aid Given/Received totals: Automatic Aid Given: 439, Automatic Aid Received: 350, Mutual Aid Given: 411, Mutual Aid Received: 154, No Aid Given Or Received: 9,360, Other Aid Given: 9 for a total of 10,723.
Incidents By Time Of Day: 6 a.m. to noon: 26%, noon to 6 p.m.: 33%, midnight to 6 a.m.: 15% and 6 p.m. to midnight: 26%.
Incident Type Responses By Category: EMS: 5,129, False Alarm: 2,109, Fire: 795, Good Intent: 530, Hazardous Condition: 1,311, Other: 48, Explosion-No Fire: 13, Service: 741 and Weather: 47.
Most Frequent Incident Types: Alarm System Activation, No Fire/ Unintentional: 526, Alarm System Sounded Due To Malfunction: 408, Arcing, Shorted Electrical Equipment: 221, Dispatched & Cancelled En Route: 216, EMS Call, Excluding Vehicle Accident With Injury: 4,108, Medical Assist, Assist EMS Crew: 347, Motor Vehicle Accident With Injuries: 253, Smoke Detector Activation Due To Malfunction: 441, Smoke Detector Activation, No Fire/ Unintentional: 282, Vehicle Accident and General Cleanup: 231.
Cape May County had two civilian fire casualties in 2008, two school fires, 57 vehicle fires resulting in $296,000 in property loss and $20,500 in contents loss. A total of 72 acres were burned in wild land fires, according to DCA.
The 172 page report can be accessed at http://www.state.nj.us/dca/dfs/fire_in_nj08.pdf on the DCA website.
“This publication is full of information that fire officials and households around the state can use to help make their communities and properties safer,” said DCA Acting Commissioner Charles A. Richman. “We commend the participating fire departments that gathered and submitted data about fire incidents. The report would not be possible without their help and hard work.”
Citing the publication, State Fire Marshal and Division of Fire Safety Director Lawrence Petrillo reported that two firefighters died in the line of duty and 83 civilians lost their lives as a result of fire in 2008. Nearly 500 civilians and almost double that number of firefighters sustained injuries. More than 77 percent of the 83 civilian fatalities occurred in residential occupancies.
“In 2008, there were more than 10,000 fires reported in one or two-family dwellings. Some of the most common causes of fire include ignition of clothing dryers, water heater units, power cords, and fireplaces, chimneys and furnaces,” said Petrillo. “By far, however, household dryers and cooking were the most frequent causes of residential fires.”
Regular maintenance and upkeep can reduce the incidence of dryer and cooking fires. Cleaning the lint filter in dryers and annually cleaning or changing gas dryers’ exhaust duct can drastically reduce the risk of fire. Similarly, keeping ovens clean of grease and not leaving cooking unattended will significantly reduce the risk of fire in homes.
“Fire in New Jersey 2008” contains not only the facts about fire incidents in 2008, but also vivid color photos of actual fire events and the firefighters who risk their lives to protect New Jersey’s citizens and property.
Other statewide statistics: 33,940 fires were reported, 856 firefighters were reported injured, 471 civilians were reported injured as a result of fire, 79 percent of all civilian fire fatalities occurred in residential properties, 77 percent of all reported structure fires involved residential properties, 60 percent of reported residential fires occurred in 1 or 2 family dwellings.
Statewide, 340 fires were intentionally set in residential properties, 80 percent of all reported vehicle fires involved passenger vehicles, 14 civilian fire fatalities occurred in vehicles, 99 vehicle fires were intentionally set, 3,750 acres were reported burned, 587 school fires were reported and11 percent of all reported incidents were fire incidents.
Cape May – Governor Murphy says he doesn't know anything about the drones and doesn't know what they are doing but he does know that they are not dangerous. Does anyone feel better now?
