> So in a housing development with 36 homes, we expect one to burn in 10 years? Am I reading that right?
Yep. And - anecdata - it is about correct... if you count all the unintended fires that didn't escalate to a full blown dwelling fire. The classic example is oil overheating and flash-combusting in a pan or pot, and people making that exponentially worse by trying to extinguish it with water instead of just putting a damn lid on it.
Another infamous example used to be (old) people smoking in their wing chair while watching TV and falling asleep with the lit cigarette then setting the furniture or carpets alight. That one has been very effectively remediated by strict fire resistance requirements on furniture as well as requiring cigarette manufacturers switch to self-extinguishing paper.
Yep. And - anecdata - it is about correct... if you count all the unintended fires that didn't escalate to a full blown dwelling fire. The classic example is oil overheating and flash-combusting in a pan or pot, and people making that exponentially worse by trying to extinguish it with water instead of just putting a damn lid on it.
Another infamous example used to be (old) people smoking in their wing chair while watching TV and falling asleep with the lit cigarette then setting the furniture or carpets alight. That one has been very effectively remediated by strict fire resistance requirements on furniture as well as requiring cigarette manufacturers switch to self-extinguishing paper.