​ST. PAUL – They went to bed after having a cigarette and never woke up.

Or they took one last puff while on oxygen.

Their vehicle crashed and ignited on impact.

They wanted to celebrate the Fourth of July and made a mistake with fireworks.

These are just some of the causes behind the 70 deaths that occurred during fire-related emergencies in 2022. This is not only the highest number of fire deaths in the past five years, but it is also the highest number since 1995 when 86 people were killed by fire in Minnesota.

“To say Minnesota had 70 fire deaths in 2022 is oversimplifying the data," said Interim State Fire Marshal Amanda Swenson. “These deaths weren't a result of social media challenges gone wrong. Many stem from lifestyle and behavioral decisions." 

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety State Fire Marshal Division (SFMD) uses two resources to determine the number of fire fatalities; internal investigation reports and Minnesota Department of Health fatality records. SFMD data analysts compare the two lists to see which cases overlap, then determine which new cases can be considered official fire deaths.

 
Key takeaways from 2022 include: 

• Fifty-nine percent of all deadly fires took place in 30 counties in greater Minnesota. Those fires accounted for 41 of the 70 deaths.
• There were 9.7 fatal fires per million people in the seven-county Twin Cities metro area.
• In greater Minnesota, that figure jumps to 21.4 per million people.
• Forty-eight of the fire deaths were men and 22 were women.
• The average victim is 56-years-old, although victims ranged from six to 90-years-old.

Mental health, careless driving, substance abuse and homelessness are all factors that contributed to or caused fatal fires in Minnesota.

 “The data paints a tragic picture that forever impacts the lives of the loved ones left behind," said Swenson. “People think of a fire death as someone trapped in a burning that accidentally ignited, but they can occur under a variety of circumstances."

Nine of the fire deaths last year were a result of careless smoking. Thirteen involved vehicle crashes that resulted in a fire. Twenty-nine of the 70 fire deaths occurred when drugs (whether prescription or illegal) or alcohol were present; six cases had both drugs and alcohol present.

The data provides a starting point for the SFMD and the Minnesota fire service to reduce fire fatalities by:

• Inviting community partners (such as community health coalitions, and nonprofits) and stakeholders (such as federal, state and local agencies) to participate in grassroots campaigns.
• Investing in education initiatives to promote fire safety.
• Inspiring behavioral changes among Minnesotans to reduce fire risks.

Together, the SFMD and its partners will spend the remainder of 2023 working to prevent fire deaths. This will involve many activities that may include:

• Meeting homebound Minnesotans who may be using oxygen tanks while smoking to highlight the dangers of combining the two.
• Collaborating with drug and alcohol rehab specialists, community health coalitions and food delivery services to demonstrate how little changes to behaviors and lifestyles can make the difference between life and death.
• Bringing attention to the secondary effects of careless actions — such as speeding, distracted or impaired driving — and how they may contribute to the increase in fire death numbers.

This year's data shows this work is necessary as 2023 fire deaths are already trending ahead of where they were last year.

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