A FEW FACTS ABOUT SPRINKLERS
The following statistics are taken from the Activity report and statistics on fires reported in 2012, prepared by the Ministère de la Sécurité publique.
- In 2010, 2011 and 2012, there were an average of 20 building fires per day across Québec—approximately one fire every 72 minutes.
- In 2012, 7,225 building fires were reported, for losses estimated at $467.9 million.
- Only 10% of buildings that caught fire were equipped with sprinklers.
- A National Fire Protection Association survey of 58,000 fires revealed a 96.2% efficacy rate for automatic sprinkler systems.
Probable causes of all fires reported in Québec in 2012 :
Cause | % |
Undetermined or unknown | 59 |
Mechanical or electrical failure or malfunction | 14 |
Human error | 9 |
Incident referred for police investigation | 7 |
Improper use of a flammable material (e.g., cooking oil) | 4 |
Other (e.g., natural causes) | 2 |
Improper use of an ignition source (e.g., playing with matches) | 2 |
Improper use of equipment (e.g., electrical overload) | 2 |
Faulty design, construction or installation | 1 |
Breakdown of building fires reported in 2012, by time of day:
Time | % |
12 a.m. to 4:59 a.m. | 14 |
5 a.m. to 9:59 a.m. | 15 |
10 a.m. to 2:59 p.m. | 23 |
3 p.m. to 7:59 p.m. | 29 |
8 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. | 19 |
Breakdown of building fires reported in 2012, by week day:
Day | % |
Monday | 15 |
Tuesday | 14 |
Wednesday | 15 |
Thursday | 14 |
Friday | 14 |
Saturday | 14 |
Sunday | 14 |
Breakdown of building fires reported in 2012, by month:
Month | % |
January | 11 |
February | 9 |
March | 10 |
April | 9 |
May | 8 |
June | 7 |
July | 7 |
August | 7 |
September | 7 |
October | 7 |
November | 9 |
December | 9 |
Breakdown of building fires reported in 2012, by building type:
Building type | % |
Residential | 69 |
Public/services | 8 |
Commercial | 7 |
Industrial | 6 |
Agricultural | 4 |
Undetermined | 4 |
Other (fishing, hunting, mining) | 2 |
Estimated material losses related to building fires reported in 2012 :
Location | Damages |
Buildings | $271.6 M |
Contents | $165.0 M |
Exteriors | $31.3 M |
Total | $467.9 M |
Point of origin of residential building fires reported in 2012:
Description | % |
Kitchen | 27 |
Other location (home business) | 12 |
Outdoor balcony, roof, wall | 10 |
Indoor garage, storage locker, warehouse, cold room, etc. (storage area) | 9 |
Living room, sitting room, library, etc. | 8 |
Yard, deck, outdoor parking space, etc. (outdoor area) | 8 |
Undetermined | 7 |
Bedroom | 6 |
Entrance, hallway, indoor staircase and other high-traffic areas | 3 |
Bathroom | 4 |
Chimney, pipe, ventilation duct, etc. | 2 |
Hot water tank closet, boiler room, electrical room, workshop, etc. | 3 |
Dining room | 1 |
See also : Quebec's legislative framework