IPW: Healthy People 2010 Injury Prevention Objectives

Healthy People 2010 - With Annotations

Chapter 15

Injury and Violence Prevention
Lead Agency: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Goal: Reduce injuries, disabilities, and deaths due to unintentional injuries and violence.

15-26. Increase functioning residential smoke alarms.

Target and baseline:

Objective: Increase in Functioning Residential Smoke Alarm on Every Floor	Baseline Percent	2010 Target Percent
15-26a. Total population living in residences with functioning smoke alarm on every floor	87 (1994)	100
15-26b. Residences with a functioning smoke alarm on every floor	87 (1998)	100

Age adjusted to the year 2000 standard population.

Target setting method: Total coverage.

Data source: National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), CDC, NCHS.

Total Population, 1994	Live in Residences With Functioning Smoke Alarm on Every Floor Percent
TOTAL	87
Race and ethnicity
American Indian or Alaska Native	89
Asian or Pacific Islander	86
Asian	DSU
Native Hawaiian - Pacific Islander	DSU
Black or African American	88
White	86
Hispanic or Latino	90
Not Hispanic or Latino	87
Black or African American	88
White	86
Gender
Female	87
Male	86
Education level (aged 25 years and older)
Less than high school	87
High school graduate	87
At least some college	87

DNA = Data have not been analyzed. DNC = Data are not collected. DSU = Data are statistically unreliable.

Note: Age adjusted to the year 2000 standard population.

In 1997, 3,220 deaths occurred as a result of residential fires. Residential property loss caused by these fires was roughly $4.4 billion. In 1995, the cost of all fire-related deaths and injuries, including deaths and injuries to firefighters, was estimated at $15.8 billion.(46)

Fires are the second leading cause of unintentional injury death among children. Compared to the total population, children aged 4 years and under have a fire death rate more than twice the national average. About 800 children aged 14 years and under die by fire each year, and 65 percent of these children are under age 5 years. Children are disproportionately affected because they react less effectively to fire than adults, and they also generally sustain more severe burns at lower temperatures than adults. Two-thirds of fire-related deaths and injuries among children under age 5 years occur in homes without working smoke alarms.(47)

Working smoke alarms on every level and in every sleeping area of a home can provide residents with sufficient warning to escape from nearly all types of fires. Therefore, working smoke alarms can be highly effective in preventing fire-related deaths. If a fire occurs, homes with smoke alarms are roughly half as likely to have a death occur as homes without smoke alarms.(47)

Healthy People 2010 - With Annotations

Read Operational Definition for 15-26a

Read Operational Definition for 15-26b

Read Overview of Injuries

Back to HP 2010 Injury Objectives Page