Reflections on Fire Safety in Urban America
Living in a busy Brooklyn neighborhood means dealing with the regular sound of fire engine sirens filtering through our living room window. But on the morning of September 17, the number of sirens was enough to pull me out of sleep.
Later that day, I learned that a major five-alarm fire had impacted a 150-year-old artists’ warehouse in nearby Red Hook. This incident, involving over 200 firefighters, was one of the most significant fires New York has seen this year. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but the works of more than 500 artists were likely lost.
This fire is a blow to New York’s already struggling artistic community, which got me thinking about the broader issue of urban fires across the U.S. Throughout history, fires have always posed a danger. For instance, Rome famously suffered a devastating fire in 64 CE, though it wasn’t as attributed to Emperor Nero as once believed. Similarly, Samuel Pepys documented the Great Fire of London in 1666, where even the stones of churches caught fire.
In the U.S., the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 devastated 3.3 square miles, leaving about 100,000 people homeless. Even as recently as the 1970s, parts of the Bronx faced a staggering average of two fires per hour, leading to the destruction of about 80 percent of the borough’s housing.
The tragedy in Red Hook underscores that fire remains a threat, especially to older infrastructures. Yet, beneath the constant wailing of sirens, there’s an undercurrent of progress bringing a greater level of fire safety today. For instance, the rate of civilian fire deaths has dropped significantly since 1980, roughly two-thirds, from 28.6 deaths per million people to about 11 per million in 2023. Additionally, reported fires have halved in that time, and injuries have also decreased considerably.
Even with recent wildfires posing new threats to urban areas, as seen in Los Angeles earlier this year, American buildings are much more fire-resistant than they used to be. This improvement stems from multiple small measures implemented over time.
Key Fire Safety Innovations
Let’s start with smoke alarms. These devices are arguably the most critical fire safety feature. The first automatic smoke alarm was invented in 1890, but it’s astonishing to think that by 1977, only about a quarter of American homes had them. Today, smoke alarms are standard in most residences. When they’re functioning correctly, the death rate per reported home fire is about 60 percent lower compared to homes without a working alarm. New building codes now typically demand interconnected systems, including alarms in bedrooms. However, it’s crucial to check these regularly, as many fatal fires still occur without alarms or with ones that fail to operate.
Next, there are automatic sprinklers, which can be lifesavers. Buildings equipped with sprinklers see a roughly 90 percent reduction in civilian deaths from fires. Today, many new multifamily homes and apartment buildings are required to have these systems installed, making them increasingly common.
Then there are safer furnishings and interior finishes. In 2021, the U.S. adopted a national smolder-resistance standard for upholstered furniture, building on an existing California code. Such measures mean that fewer small fires escalate into major incidents.
The decline in smoking also contributes to fire safety. Cigarettes are a common cause of house fires. In 1980, an estimated 70,800 smoking-related house fires resulted in 1,820 deaths. The numbers have dramatically decreased since then, thanks in part to safer cigarette designs now required in all states. By 2016, smoking-related fires had dropped to 16,500, causing 660 deaths, even as both the population and the number of buildings grew.
Improved electrical and heating safety measures have also played a role. Modern building codes now necessitate safeguards, like arc-fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs), which shut off power when unsafe conditions arise. Although heating equipment remains a significant cause of fires, incidents related to heating have decreased by a third from 2010 to 2019, thanks to innovations like automatic shutoffs for space heaters.
All these improvements didn’t just appear without effort. They required regulators to learn from past tragedies and establish new building codes and safety regulations. Public service campaigns have educated people on the importance of smoke alarms and warned against risky behaviors such as smoking in bed. These incremental changes often go unnoticed but have undeniably saved countless lives over the years.
We may never know how many potential disasters have been averted, but I can’t help but think that my life—and perhaps yours—might have been saved through these advancements.
Still, progress has been uneven. Homes still account for a majority of fire-related deaths in the U.S. The highest risks are often borne by older adults, individuals with disabilities, and lower-income households residing in aging buildings, where missing alarms, misuse of space heaters, or unsafe extension cords may be more prevalent. Moreover, the threat of wildfires, including those that can reach urban areas, is expected to grow.
Nevertheless, it’s important to recognize how far we’ve come since the days when various neighborhoods were engulfed in flames.
