A nationwide survey conducted by the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) reveals that 79 percent of Americans feel safer from fires at home than in a public building with an additional 9 percent feeling equally safe in both locations.

These results are inconsistent with government statistics that show that home fires outnumber all other building fires by over three to one. At the same time, most fire deaths and injuries occur in the home.

Public buildings are subject to tough fire-safety regulations and inspections, whereas most homes are not.

“Most public buildings and commercial office buildings are much better protected than homes,” said SFPE’s Engineering Program Manager Chris Jelenewicz. “This is because fire protection engineers implement fire-safety strategies and technologies into building the design and construction of commercial buildings.”

Similar results were found in a 2005 survey conducted by SFPE, where 87 percent of Americans believed they were safer from fires at home than in a public building.