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Your Home Fire Safety Checklist
Table of Contents
About the Commission
Introduction
Sources Of Fire
Supplemental Home Heating Equipment
Cooking Equipment
Cigarette Lighters and Matches
Materials That Burn
Upholstered Furniture
Mattresses and Bedding
Wearing Apparel
Flammable Liquids
Early Warning and Escape
Smoke Detectors
Escape Plan
About the Commission
This Home Fire Safety Checklist was developed by the U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), an independent
regulatory agency of the U.S. Government.
The Commission has four statutory missions:
-- to protect the public from unreasonable risks of injury
associated with consumer products;
-- to assist consumers in evaluating the comparative
safety of consumer products;
-- to develop uniform safety standards for consumer
products and minimize conflicting state and local
regulations; and
-- to promote research and investigation into the causes
and prevention of product-related deaths, injuries and
illnesses.
It has jurisdiction over more than 15,000 consumer
products used in the home, school and in public places. Among
the products not subject to the Commission's authority are
food, drugs, automobiles, tobacco, and fire arms. The
Commission administers five safety laws: The Consumer Product
Safety Act, the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, the Flammable
Fabrics Act, the Poison Prevention Packaging Act, and the
Refrigerator Act.
CPSC began operation on May 14, 1973. It is headed by
three Commissioners appointed by the President with the advice
and consent of the Senate.
On October 29, 1973, the Commission instituted a toll-free
Hotline to make it easier for consumers to report
product-related injuries or potentially hazardous products, and
to get information on recalled products seven days a week, 24
hours a day. You may call the Commission's Hotline from
anywhere in the continental U.S. by dialing 1-800-638-2772. A
teletypewriter for the hearing impaired is also available
(including Alaska and Hawaii) on a special Hotline number
1-800-638-8270, in Maryland only dial 1-800-492-8104. To order
publications, write to the Office of Information and Public
Affairs, Washington, DC 20207.
Introduction
The United States has one of the highest fire death and
injury rates in the world. Fire--in the form of flames and
smoke--is the second leading cause of accidental death in the
home.
More than 4,000 people die each year in home fires. Every
year, there are more than 500,000 residential fires serious
enough to be reported to fire departments. More than 90 percent
of residential fire deaths and injuries result from fires in
one and two family houses and apartments. Property losses
exceed 4 billion do
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