Worcester, MA

Partners: Worcester Fire Department and Worcester Housing Authority (WHA)

Campaign: “A Recipe for Fire Safe Cooking” program  – implemented with FY 2015 and 2016 Federal Emergency Management Agency Fire Prevention & Safety Grant funding

The Worcester Fire Department’s CRR fire analysis identified four WHA high-rise buildings that were responsible for nearly 25 percent of all of Worcester’s reported cooking fires in 2015. These buildings accounted for an average of nearly 12 fires per month, causing more than $500,000 in property damage. The apartments housed low- to no-income older adults, most of whom had physical or mental disabilities that increased their fire risk.

The program combined education and training of property managers and residents with the installation of SmartBurners™ in the WHA apartments. There have been zero fires where SmartBurner was in place. Remarkably, there were two fires in units where the SmartBurner was removed by the tenant. That, in turn, has promted the WHA to implement Standard Operating Guidelines to help ensure that the SmartBurner is never again removed by tenants.

After the first phase of installations, there was a documented 96% reduction in cooking-related fire department calls. As well, following a stovetop fire in a different WHA complex that destroyed two WHA apartments and displaced four residents, a grant amendment allowed the fire department to retrofit an additional 60 units.

The Worcester Fire Department was recently awarded a fourth FEMA grant that will complete the installation of SmartBurner in additional WHA properties equipped with electric coil stove tops.

You can incorporate this life-saving technology into your CRR program too. SmartBurner easily replaces electric coil burners and helps prevent cooking fires. The prevention solution provides a return on investment through insurance savings, energy savings, and maintenance savings as well as preventing the high costs of restoration and lost-rent when fire occurs

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How Installing Pioneering’s Cooking Fire Solution Helped Save Property, Lives, and Money. 

Stovetop cooking is the leading cause of household fire throughout North America. In 2011 U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 156,300 home fires involving cooking equipment. These fires caused 470 deaths, 5,390 injuries, and $1.0 billion in direct property damage. According to Facts and Figures from NFPA’s Cooking Fires 2010, cooking caused 44% of reported home fires in the U.S., 16% of home fire deaths, 40% of home fire injuries, and 15% of the direct property damage in 2010. In fact, 68% of all home cooking fires involve an electric cooking range.  Cooking left unattended is the number one reason for these fires. 

Shockingly, statistics reveal that 43.4% of all stovetop fires occur in multi-unit residences and that 63.2% of stovetop fires are in subsidized units. Fire Marshalls rightly recommend public education and use of stovetop-fire-mitigation technologies in high-risk populations such as multi-family buildings, particularly affordable housing units.

The Problem   

Erie Metropolitan Housing Authority (EMHA) serves Sandusky, Ohio citizens by operating multiple public-housing properties, providing and maintaining safe, affordable housing. Sandusky’s EMHA also administers rent-supplement programs assisting Sandusky families in renting over 1,000 private housing units. Overall, the agency currently provides or arranges safe and affordable housing for thousands of residents.

EMHA sought to increase resident comfort, reduce fires, reduce utility expenses, and promote sustainability. In 2012 Sandusky Fire Department Inspector Steve Rucker secured a Red Cross grant to fund smoke detectors for Sandusky’s low-income residents and seniors. While deploying grant funds Sandusky Fire responded to an unattended cooking fire at EMHA’s “Community Plaza” (a senior residence), which focused Rucker’s attention on stove-top related fires, particularly in low-income and senior housing. Rucker quickly concluded that Sandusky, like every other U.S. community, suffers from a rising number of cooking fires often because of unattended cooking.

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