UMD Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3

New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.

More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.

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Author: search.filters.author.Hanson, Robert E.Subject: search.filters.subject.Risk

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    Fire Hazard of the Contemporary American Home
    (2014) Hanson, Robert E.; Milke, James A; Fire Protection Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Annual direct property damage for one- and two- family residential fires is estimated as $5.9 billion in the United States. Recent research has suggested that the level of fire hazard in contemporary homes is greater than legacy homes. This study utilizes national fire incident data from 2003 to 2010 to examine trends and characteristics of residential fires. The Item First Ignited and Heat Source for fires are analyzed in a risk model. Structural Member is the Item First Ignited that contributes the greatest amount of risk in one- and two- family houses. The Heat Source for Structural Member is concentrated among three main categories: Operating Equipment, Electrical Arcing, and Hot or Smoldering Objects. Grouping together the items Upholstered Sofas, Mattresses, and Bedding as representing soft furnishings in the house, contribute the second greatest amount of risk. The main Heat Source for these items is Other Open Flame or Smoking Materials