The results of an analysis of fire causal factors in over 1600 fire fatalities are presented. The primary emphasis is on the identification of fire causes leading to demonstrated high fatality rates in rural areas. It was found that the most significant rural fire fatality cause was heating equipment, with improper installation and misuse of solid fueled heating equipment predominating. Other fire causes making significant contributions to high rural fatality rates were also investigated and documented. Additional data are currently being collected to enable further evaluation of rural fire problems.

An analytical procedure is presented for conducting life-cycle cost (LCC) analyses of fire safety systems in new health care facilities. Comparative LCC evaluations of alternative fire safety systems can be obtained based on their initial costs, useful life times, operation and maintenance costs, salvage values, and corresponding fire Insurance costs for the building and its contents.The case study used to demonstrate the procedure compares the life-cycle costs of two fire safety systems in compliance with the NFPA Life Safety Code in a particular hospital:(1) fire resistive construction with no sprinklers, and(2) protected noncombustible construction fully equipped with automatic sprinklers.Five different examples are provided with varying assumptions regarding initial construction costs, the choice of a discount rate, the tax status of the facility, and the life expectancy of the sprinkler equipment 1 .