The U.S. Fire Administration has issued three special reports as part of its Topical Fire Report series, examining the risk of death or injury from fire by various demographic, geographic and socio-economic characteristics.

"Because of limited cognitive and physical abilities, very young children and older adults face a greater risk of dying in a fire," said U.S. Fire Administrator Greg Cade. "The [USFA] has developed fire safety campaigns targeted at high-risk groups. These campaigns provide awareness to parents and caregivers and aid in reducing the risk of fire death and injury."

The three reports, Fire Risk in 2004, Fire Risk to Children in 2004, and Fire Risk to Older Adults in 2004, were developed by the National Fire Data Center and explore factors that influence risk and are based on 2004 data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System, the National Center for Health Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau. These reports are an update of the previous fire-risk reports issued in December 2004.

These short topical reports are designed to explore facets of the U.S. fire problem as depicted through data collected in NFIRS. Each topical report briefly addresses the nature of the specific fire or fire-related topic, highlights important findings from the data, and may suggest other resources to consider for further information.