ST PAUL, Minn. — State safety officials are raising a red flag after statistics revealed 70 people died in fires during 2022, making it one of the deadliest years in nearly three decades.
The yearly audit, which is built on internal investigation reports and fatality records from the Minnesota Department of Health, suggests that many of these deadly fires were not just accidents. The State Fire Marshal's Division (SFMD) says nine of the deaths resulted from careless smoking, 13 of them involved vehicle crashes that resulted in a fire, and 29 of the 70 total deaths occurred when drugs or alcohol was present.
"To say Minnesota had 70 fire deaths in 2022 is oversimplifying the data," Interim State Fire Marshal Amanda Swenson said. "These deaths weren't a result of social media challenges gone wrong. Many stem from lifestyle and behavioral decisions."
Brainerd Fire Chief Tim Holmes said during a media briefing that while deadly fires impact all areas of the state, outstate Minnesota is especially vulnerable. Statistics gathered for the 2022 report show 59% of Minnesota's deadly fires took place outside the Twin Cities metro, accounting for 41 of the year's 70 deaths.
Holmes said one reason for that is that most fire departments in smaller communities are staffed by volunteers, who generally have to travel longer distances to fire stations before gearing up and responding to a fire. Longer response times can impact survival rates when people are trapped inside a burning structure or vehicle.
Here are some additional fire death stats from 2022:
- 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 deaths were men and 22 were women.
- The average victim is 56 years old, although victims ranged from six to 90 years old.
The SFMD and partnering agents and fire departments will spend the remainder of 2023 acting to prevent fire deaths, as fire deaths are already trending ahead of where they were last year. The outreach effort will involve partnering with community groups, investing in fire education programs, and attempting to inspire behavioral changes at the personal level.
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