Home Safety Facts

Burglary Facts

Fire Facts

Emergency Facts

Burglary Facts

• Property crime makes up slightly more than 3/4 of all crime in the U.S.
• In 2007, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported that there were 181,574 burlaries, up 6.3% from 2006 Of those, 109,321 were forced entry burglaries, up 7.8%. And there was a 9.8% rise in the number of attempted entry.
• In 2005, U.S. law enforcement agencies reported an estimated 2,154,126 burglary offenses.
• An examination of 5- and 10-year trends revealed a 1.8% increase in the number of burglaries compared with the 2001 estimate, and a 14.1% decline from the 1996 number.
• The average dollar loss per burglary offense in 2005 was $1,725.
• A burglary takes place in the U.S. every 14.6 seconds according to the Uniform Crime Reporting Program Crime Clock
• Overall, in about 84% of all burglaries, the offender gained entry into the victim's residence or other building on the property.
• Of all burglary offenses in 2005, 65.8% were of residential structures.
• Most (62.4%) of residential burglaries in 2005 for which time of occurrence was known took place during the day, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
• Home alarm systems deter intruders from attempting break-ins: homes without alarm systems are 2.2 times more likely to be burglarized than homes with alarm systems.

Where Burglars Enter a House

• 34% of burglars entered through the front door
• 23% through a first-floor window
• 22% through the back door
• 9% through the garage
• 4% entered through a basement
• 4% through an unlocked entrance
• 2% through a storage area
• 2% entered anywhere on the second floor
• A study in Connecticut showed that 12% of burglaries occurred through an UNLOCKED door and that in 41% of alarmed homes that were burglarized, the security system was not turned on.

To learn how to protect your home against home invasions, Click Here.

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Fire Facts

• More than half of all fatal home fires occur at night while people are asleep.
• Smoke detectors should be installed on every floor in your home.
• Approximately 1/3 of smoke detectors in homes are not in proper working condition.
• Heating Equipment causes over 70,000 fires a year.
• Arson or suspected arson causes over 50,000 fires a year.
• Electrical distribution equipment cause over 37,000 fires a year.
• Cooking Equipment causes 97,300 fires a year. These result in approximately 310 deaths, 4,830 injuries, and $400 million in property damage.
• One quarter of home-fire victims die from burns; seven out of 10 die from breathing poisonous gases produced by the fire.
• Cooking is the leading cause of home fires in the U.S., however, smoking is the leading cause of fire-related deaths.
• Each year, fire kills more Americans than all natural disasters combined.
• In 2006, there were 1,642,500 fires in the U.S. Of these, 51.2% were outside and other fires, 31.9% were structure fires, and 16.9 were vehicle fires.
• Residential fires accounted for 78.7% of all structure fires.
• 79.5% of all civilian fire fatalities occurred in the home, where home is defined as one- and two-family dwellings and apartments. Of those, approximately 83.5% occurred in single-family homes and duplexes.

To learn how to protect your home and family against fires, Click Here.

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Emergency Facts

• One in every three senior citizens over 65 falls each year, resulting in sprained ankles, head or brain injuries, and hip fractures.
• People over age 75 have more injury-related deaths than any other age group.
• Each year in the U.S., an estimated 200,000 older Americans suffer hip fractures, associated with falls. Approximately 40,000 elderly persons die each year from the subsequent issues.
• After the age of 60, the risk of burn injury is greater than at any time since childhood. The average size of the burn is larger than for any other age group.
• The most common burn accidents for older adults are from flame or scalding, bathing, or falling asleep while smoking.
• The elderly are also more likely than any age group besides children, to be victims of accidental poison.

To learn how to protect your elderly loved ones, Click Here.

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