I'd like to see the source of the data for that study and also who made it and for whom. There is clear statistical data that likes cigarette use with economic status and cigarette use with vehicle accidents and hence car insurance rates. I always trust the insurance actuaries with crunching numbers accurately and though the two references above aren't necessarily linked to fires we do find that statistics show most fire deaths attributed to fires are at night and many start due to unattended smoking materials. Also alcohol and drug abuse (not necessarily use) occur more frequently with economic disadvantage that abuse would tend to exacerbate inattention to smoking materials, and, as already addressed, the same economic group is using/abusing tobacco. Now economic status in and of itself may be a secondary in this bit of calculus and the main factor, as some suggest, may be higher levels of education, but there's statistical data to show that education is directly related to economic status in a quid pro relationship. Does the cart come first or the horse? I don't know, but at some level it seems to me that economic levels directly affect who gets a fire. Whether that applies to economic downturns or upswings, as suggested at the beginning of the post, I'd speculate no, since the increase in unemployed and therefore the increase of lower income individuals is an after the fact result and that these individuals that have joined the ranks of the economically depressed didn't miraculously lose their former level of education nor their self-opinion of their place in the society. Two-hundred pages more and I'll have a dissertation.
On Mon, Feb 1, 2010 at 7:01 AM, Chris Cahill <[email protected]> wrote: > I saw a study back in the late '90's that dispelled the economy relationship > to fires. Kind of like the myth of full moons linked to anything. There is > however a slight uptick in the winter and more predictable with unseasonable > cold weather. If it's been cold you might just be seeing that normal > increase from people staying inside more than usual. You know the old saying > about men, women and children being the 3 most common causes of fire. > "Honey, its cold out, why don't we skip Aunt What's Her Name 164th birthday, > light some romantic candles, throw some wood in the fire place that hasn't > been used in years and burn down the house after we fall asleep." > > Also don't trust the news if that's where the thought of more fires comes > from. Remember a bunch of years ago the great shark menace on the east > coast where they publicized every shark bite. Well turns out it was a below > average year for shark bite. Also there is nothing like reporting fires and > the "poor" FF that have to go out in this weather on a slow news day. > > Chris Cahill, P.E. > Fire Protection Engineer > Sentry Fire Protection, Inc. > > 763-658-4483 > 763-658-4921 fax > > Email: [email protected] > > Mail: P.O. Box 69 > Waverly, MN 55390 > > Location: 4439 Hwy 12 SW > Waverly, MN 55390 > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of J. Scott > Mitchell > Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2010 8:20 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: More fires? > > Not surprising at all considering the "trickle up poverty" economics. > > J. Scott Mitchell, P.E. > > --- On Sat, 1/30/10, Todd - FPDC <[email protected]> wrote: > From: Todd - FPDC <[email protected]> > Subject: More fires? > To: [email protected] > Date: Saturday, January 30, 2010, 7:00 PM > > Is anybody else seeing an increase in the number of fires in there > area? It seems like there are a lot more on the news on the CT area. > Mostly residential. > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Sprinklerforum mailing list > [email protected] > http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum > > For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] > > To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] > (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field) > > _______________________________________________ > Sprinklerforum mailing list > [email protected] > http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum > > For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] > > To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] > (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field) > -- Ron Greenman Instructor Fire Protection Engineering Bates Technical College Tacoma, WA Member: SFPE, ASCET, NFPA, AFSA, NFSA AFAA, WSAFM _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field)
