Fires and Fire Deaths from Almost All Causes Fall by Two

One of the big problems with measuring progress in averting accidents is that you’re looking for nothing—because nothing happened.

But determined to show how nothing is a big something indeed, Vox’s Bryan Walsh set out to measure America’s progress in preventing fires and fireproofing homes after he himself heard of a fire ripping through a Brooklyn artist’s warehouse.

Deaths by fires have fallen by two-thirds since 1980, lead in part by advances in safety awareness and product safety.

Decades of updated building codes and public safety campaigns have led to the majority of US homes and apartments having smoke detectors—the single best defense against small room fires turning into conflagrations.

About 60% fewer deaths per recorded house fire occur when the house in question has a wo