2017 Fire in Alaska report released

WASILLA—The Division of Fire and Life Safety recently published their Fire in Alaska 2017 online, containing data provided by 170 fire departments across the state.

While there was no Ma-Su Valley specific results but by combining the participating fire departments from each community, approximate samples can be surmised. For instance, for the participating Mat-Su Valley fire departments: Butte, Central Mat-Su, City of Palmer, Houston, Talkeetna, and Willow, a total of 339 total fires causing approximately $2,204,906 in “fire dollars lost.” Those combined numbers were merely a sample of the fire data in the Mat-Su and does not reflect the actual total.

Fire loss estimates take into consideration material damaged during extinguishment in addition to material actually damaged by the fire, according to the report.

“Every 11 hours a fire department in Alaska in 2017 respond to a residential fire,” according to a recent press release from the Department of Public Safety.

The report is a compilation of data that was provided to FLS from 170 Fire Departments and details data regarding fatalities and injuries caused by fire across the state. Information regarding burn treatment at clinics and medical centers is also in the report.

“We are watching statistics closely on fire deaths and injuries because the lives of Alaskans matter,” said David Tyler, Alaska Fire Marshal stated in a recent press release. “What we are seeing are deaths and injuries that are preventable and the trends give us important clues to how we can make Alaska safer.”

2017 was a substantial year for fire-related deaths. According to Tyler’s introduction to the report, Alaska’s total number of “high risk fire fatalities” increased by 167 percent. High risk fatalities were described as fire fatalities between the ages of 0 –10 and over 65.

“One high risk fire fatality is a tragedy but we saw eight with six of the victims being under the age of 10. This demonstrates a need for education to both parents and children on the danger of matches, lighters, and other open flames,” Tyler continued in his introduction.

“I am sure that there are still more injuries out there than are reported.”

The number of reported firefighter injuries increased by 34% from 2016; 32% of those cases did not report the type of injury and 7% reported “other;” and the most commonly reported cause of injury were thanks to “strains and/or overexertion and slipped or tripped,” according to the report.

Trends in “Intentionally Set Fires” rose from 2016 to 2017 by 57 percent, prior to that, the Tyler noted that there was a 15 percent reduction in 2016.

“We are watching this statistic closely trying to determine what is causing this fluctuation. I feel the large swings have more to do with reporting issues than actual shifts in the numbers of incendiary fires,” Tyler wrote.

Participating fire departments report their data through the Alaska National Fire Incident Reporting System with a total of 69,415 incidents in 2017; 1,450 those reported mutual aid assistance and 97 exposers.

2017 State Incident Summary, based ANFIRS reports:

Total Non-Fire Incidents 64,980

Total Fires 2,985

Mutual Aid Given Incidents 1,450

Less Exposures -97

Total Fire Department Responses 69,415

2017 State Fire Loss Breakdown:

Structure Fires 841

Confined and/or Contained Inside Structure Fires 293

Motor Vehicle Fires 581

Tree, Brush, or Grass Fires 373

Outside Rubbish or Trash Fires 820

Other Outside Fires 77

Total Fires 2,985

2017 State Non-Fire Incident Breakdown:

Rescue/EMS 45,529

Explosion – No After Fire 71

Hazardous Conditions 1,434

Service Calls 3,837

Good Intent Calls 9,556

Other Calls 103

False Alarms 4,450

Total Non-Fires 64,980