House on Fire!

In our agency management system we have an icon that looks like a house on fire. This item is located on each client's file. When we click on this icon it allows us to add claim information for all kinds of losses including fire. Fortunately, we have not had to click this icon very often to log a fire claim.

The good news is that fires have decreased over the past decade, according to Firesafety.gov.  However, we shouldn't get complacent about safety. As you will see in the video below, it doesn't take long for a fire to get out of control.

Fire Safety video courtesy of You Tube

Devastating fires have had a long reported history. As people started to move from rural areas to cities and fire spread easily from house to house, building to building, the need for fire safety, fire fighting, and fire insurance increased.

The first Roman fire fighting brigade on record was around 115 BC. Unfortunately, we are informed by Wikipedia that even though the 500 man strong brigade responded to the fire, they often stood by and did nothing, allowing the properties to burn to the ground while their employer haggled over the price to put out the fire with the property owners.

If you think this couldn't happen today, think again. Here is a modern day story of similar circumstance. MSNBC.com reported 10.6.2010 that Firefighters in rural Tennessee let a home burn to the ground a week prior because the homeowner hadn't paid a $75 fee. For the complete article visit Tennessee Fire. The video is courtesy of you tube. 



1808 rendering of The Great Fire of London

 Another horrible fire in history was The Great Fire of London. This fire started in 1666 and destroyed thousands of  homes and displaced the residents. It wasn't  long after this fire that the first fire insurance polices were drafted. Today,  fire insurance is standard on all homeowners policies.

In U.S. history, probably the most well known fire is The Great Chicago Fire. Wikipidea reports that this fire burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871. It killed hundreds and destroyed about 4 square miles in Chicago, Illinois. It was one of the largest U.S. disasters of the 19th century, prompting fire safety reform and resulting in Chicago emerging as one of the country's leading fire fighting forces.


Fire Truck used by Chicago 1930-1941



As fire fighting technology and safety standards have improved the risk and damage of fires has decreased.

Although the risk of fire damage has diminished, it should not be dismissed. According to the statistics reported on Firesafety.gov there were 377,000 fires in the US in 2009 resulting in 2,565 deaths, 13,050 injuries and $7,796,000 in dollars lost.



At Buckley & Company, Inc. your safety and the safety of your property are our concern.  Please visit Firesafety.gov for useful information on what to do before, during, and after a fire. You will also find helpful information regarding smoke alarms, fire sprinklers, and carbon monoxide poisoning. Hopefully, we will never have to click the "house on fire" icon in your file.