Blame The Cook: Most Common Fire Causes In Farmington Hills

FARMINGTON HILLS, MI – Fires in the city caused more than $8.5 million in damage to homes and property in 2017, according to the fire department's annual report. And, since 2010, the Farmington Hills Fire Department has seen a 30.8 percent increase in the number of runs and responded to more emergency calls in 2017 than in the history of the department.

Firefighters responded to 136 fires in the city during 2017, according to the annual report released this week. Nine residents and one firefighter were injured in the fires, and property damaged totaled $8.57 million. In the past 10 years, only 2012 was worse, when fires caused nearly $11 million damage that year. The 10-year average for property damage due to fires was $4.9 million.

Unattended cooking is the most common cause of the fires, fire officials reported. Firefighters remind residents "to always keep your stovetop in sight when cooking." Smoking and burning candles were also common causes of fires. Smokers should extinguish their cigarettes properly in a fire-proof container.

"And, if you use candles, always blow them out when you leave the room," wrote firefighters in the annual report.

Of the 9,524 calls the fire department responded to in 2017, 6,009 (or 63 percent) were EMS calls, according to the annual report. Fire officials noted in the report that more than 20 percent of the EMS calls were for injuries caused by falls in people older than 65.

Farmington Hills rescue squads also responded to 94 calls for opioid use. Of those calls 47 victims were found not breathing but ultimately survived and 142 doses of an opioid antidote was used.

Some other notable statistics from the 2017 annual report:

• Thursday is the most popular day of the week for emergency calls. There were 1,504 calls on Thursdays. Wednesday was the second most popular day, with 1,459 calls.
• The 5 p.m. hour was the most popular time of day for emergency calls.
• The Farmington Hills Fire Department has 52 sworn career personnel, three civilian positions and 65 paid-on-call firefighters.

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