COLUMBUS, Ohio — Improved awareness and training contributed to more than a third fewer Ohioans injured or killed in fires in 2013 than in 2003.
Chillicothe Gazette reported the decrease in injuries and deaths is accompanied by a 28 percent decrease in the number of fires across the state.
“It’s not mission accomplished ... but I think we’re going in the right direction,” State Fire Marshal Larry Flowers said.
The number of fires and fire-related injuries and deaths has been on a year-to-year downward trend for more than a decade, according to the report. In 2013, from the 37,407 reported fires, there were 669 civilian injuries and 103 deaths, which combined represents a 43 percent decline from 2003, according to the report.
There have also been few firefighter injuries and deaths over the past decade. In 2013, there were 611 injuries reported, a decline of about 20 percent from 2003, according to the report.
The number of injuries is 79 percent lower than in 2010 when there were a combined 19 civilian and firefighter fire-related injuries. There also were four fatalities that year.
Fire officials credit local fire departments for the fewer injuries and deaths by continuing to spread awareness in school visits and open houses, according to the report. Several departments also provide free smoke detectors and batteries to residents along with free home inspections.
Firefighters also are better trained. Fire Marshal Flowers’ office has provided $1 million in grants over the past two years to assist departments with training, according to the report.