fires was cooking and kitchen equipment and another 26 percent was associated with heating equipment. Other equipment associated with these fires included clothes dryers (2 percent) and dehumidifiers (2 percent). Most reported non-home structure fires involving a flammable gas began in a kitchen or cooking area. This is also where the most estimated civilian deaths and injuries occurred. Property damage was highest when fires began in storage areas. Several of the heat source categories that were top contributors to non-home structure fires involving a flammable gas involved powered and operating equipment. A spark, ember, or flame from operating equipment is estimated to have been the heat source in 28 percent of such fires. Another 8 percent were attributed to radiated or conducted heat from operating equipment and another 13 percent of these fires were attributed to an unclassified heat source from powered equipment. A large percentage of the fires where the heat source was from powered and operating equipment involved kitchen and cooking equipment, HVAC equipment, and shop tool and industrial equipment. Such equipment included ovens and grills, furnaces, heaters, compressors, and torches. The most common reported factors in non-home structure fires involving a flammable gas included a leak or break and a mechanical failure or malfunction, similar to the trend for home fires. The reported equipment involved in the ignition of these fires was related to cooking and kitchen equipment in 44 percent of all the incidents where these two factors were reported. Another 24 percent included reported equipment relating to HVAC. Nearly half of the reported non-home structure fires involving a flammable gas were unintentional. These fires also accounted for 42 percent of the civilian deaths and nearly two-thirds of civilian injuries and property damage. Almost a third of the incidents were attributed to a failure of equipment or heat source. TUCKER MCGREE is a research analyst at NFPA. NFPA .ORG/JOURNAL * NFPA JOURNAL | 75http://amerex-fire.com http://badgerfire.com http://buckeyef.com http://oshkosharff.com http://kidde.com http://firecombat.com http://rosenbaueramerica.com http://halotron.com http://nfpa.org/journal