The Boston Fire Department reports that for the second year in a row, "the City of Boston recorded the lowest number of fire deaths for large cities nationwide."
In 2012, only one person died in a fire in Boston [2], compared to 12 in Baltimore, 25 in Philadelphia, 8 in Milwaukee, 6 in Phoenix and 7 in Washington, DC.
The department credited full staffing, active training, regular inspections and a well maintained fleet of firetrucks - much of which was assembled due to the outcry following the 2009 death of Lt. Kevin Kelley [3] in a poorly maintained truck going down a steep hill with failed brakes.