A recent fire at a 16,000 square foot mansion on the waterfrontin Anne Arundel County, Maryland, took the lives of six peopleincluding two grandparents and their four grandchildren.
The cause of the fire, according to investigators, was a 16-foottall Christmas tree that the owners left lit most of the time inthe great room of the house. An electrical failure ignited thetwo-month-old tree, which swiftly fueled the fire in the rest ofthe house.
The lack of a sprinkler system inside the house or fire hydrantsand other water sources near the home made it extremely challengingfor fire fighters who responded to the call.
More than 360,000 home structure fires each year
But that is just one example. The cold weather often meansthat people are spending more time at home and all of this timeindoors increases the risks of house fires. The National Fire Protection Association(NFPA) says there are more than 360,000 home structure fires eachyear, resulting in about $6-8 billion dollars in damage.
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
