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
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
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).