Facts About Home and Recreation-Related Injuries:

Fire and Burn-Related Injuries

• Each year in the United States, more than 400,000 residential fires account for approximately 3,600 deaths and 18,600 injuries.¹² 

• Working smoke alarms reduce the risk of death from residential fires by 40-50%.¹³

• In 1997, 813 bicyclists were killed in crashes with motor vehicles.¹⁴  Of these, 31% of the riders were younger than 16 years and 97% were not wearing bike helmets.¹⁵

• An estimated 140,000 children are treated each year in emergency departments for head injuries sustained while bicycling.¹⁶

• In 1996, nearly 4,000 people drowned, including 1,000 children less than 15 years old.  Among children ages 1-9 years, drowning is the second leading cause of injury deaths.¹⁷

• Alcohol use is involved in about 25-50% of adolescent and adult deaths associated with water recreation.¹⁸

• For people aged 65-84 years, falls are the second leading cause of injury-related death; for those aged 85 years or older, falls are the leading cause of injury-related death.¹⁹

• Falls are the most common cause of injuries and hospital admissions for trauma among older adults.²⁰

• Each year in the United States, 200,000 preschool and elementary school children visit emergency departments for care of injuries sustained on playground equipment (about 1 injury every 22 minutes).  About 35% of these injuries are severe (e.g., fractures, internal injuries, concussions, dislocations, amputations, crushes).²¹

• During 1995-96 in the United States, more than 25 people died as the result of dog attacks. Twenty of these deaths were among children.²² 

• In 1994, an estimated 4.7 million persons in the United States were bitten by dogs. Of these, roughly 800,000 persons sought medical care for their bites. 22

• In 1996, about 5 million poisoning exposures occurred in the United States. 91% of those incidents occurred in the home, and 53% involved children under the age of six years.²³