Eau Claire House Fires and their Houses’ Characteristics, 2010

Hypotheses

House fires depend upon: • Age of Houses• Value of Houses• Neighborhoods

Causes of fires depend upon their location by neighborhood

Data Sources

Field Work1. Neighborhoods/Areas

– North Side– Inner City– Putnam Heights

2. Style of Houses

Assessment Records3. Date of Houses4. Value of Houses

Fire 2010 Annual Report1. Causes of Fires2. Addresses of Fires

Google Maps3. Mapped addresses of fires

House Fire Locations by Neighborhood

Putnam Heights Fires

Rudolph Rd.• 1953 • Minimal Traditional• $96,000• Malfunctioning dehumidifier

Lehman St.• 1966 • Bi-Level • $226,000• Chimney too close to wood beam

North Side Fires

Western Ave.• 1969 • Duplex• $128,100• Faulty refrigerator or smoking materials

Wellington Dr. W• 1959 • Minimal Traditional• $135,300• Discarded ashes

North Side Fires

North Ln.• 1961 • Cape Cod• $118,800• Spark from power tool

Runway Ave.• 1976 • Duplex• $119,600• Unattended candle

North Side Fires

Not Pictured: White Ave.• 1978, No longer exists• $141,700• Electrical or smoking materials

Northstar Dr.• 1998 • Ranch-like• $260,100• Lamp igniting clothing

Inner City Fires

Dewey St.• 1891 • Upright and Wing• $93,600• Vehicle fire

Chestnut St.• 1871 • Cubic or modest Queen Anne• $127,700• Smoking materials

Inner City Fires

Niagara St.• 1999 • Apartments• $508,000• Electrical or candle

University Dr.• 1986 • Apartments• Value unknown• Electrical or candle

Inner City Fires

Oxford Ave.• Year unknown • Barn/Shed• $11,000• Arson

Average Value of Homes

Putnam Heights: $161,100

North Side: $150,600

Inner City: $185,000 ($110,650)*

*Omitting barn and apartments

arson

electrical or candle

smoking materials

vehicle fire

discarded ashes

electrical or smoking materials

faulty refrigerator or smoking materials

lamp igniting clothing

spark from power tool

unattended candle

chimney too close to wood beam

malfunctioning dehumidifier

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

% putnam heights%north side% inner city

Percent of Houses per Fire Causes, by Neighborhood

Upright and Wing

Cubic

Apartments

Bi-level

Barn/Shed

(unknown)

Duplex

Minimal Traditional

Ranch-like

Cape Cod

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

Percent of Fires by Style of Houses

1870s-1880s

1890s-1900s

1910s-1920s

1930s-1940s

1950s-1960s

1970s-1980s

1990s-2000s

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Percent of Fires by Decade of Houses

10-4040-80

80-120120-160

160-200200-240

240-280280-320

320-360360-400

400-440440-480

480-5200

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Percent of Fires by Value of Houses

Thousands of Dollars

Conclusions

The number of fires may be related to: • Neighborhood • Style • Value • Age

The cause of the fires was not related to the neighborhood in which the fire took place

Works Cited

“Eau Claire Fire and Rescue 2010 Annual Report.”http://www.eauclairewi.gov/images/stories/fire/pdf/2010_annual_report.pdf (May 25,2012).

Google Maps. https://maps.google.com/ (May 25,2012).

Property Search. Last modified June 4, 2012.http://www.bis-net.net/cityofeauclaire/search.cfm (May 25, 2012).