Fire deaths down.

• Position: Stateline

Where you live can make a big difference in your likelihood of dying in a fire. But everywhere in the United States, you're safer from fire today than you were two decades ago. The National Fire Protection Association found that, although death from fire has dramatically declined overall (from 5,804 deaths in 1980 to 3,347 in 1999), there are huge variations from state to state. The states with the highest fire death rates in 1999 were Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, South Carolina...