U.S. Fire Statistics: Trends, Causes, and Impacts

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) gathers data from multiple sources to analyze and report on fire-related issues across the United States. This information helps the fire service:

• Establish benchmarks for evaluating programs.

• Raise awareness about fire safety.

• Encourage corrective actions.

• Set priorities for fire prevention initiatives.

• Direct public education programs.

Trends in Fires, Deaths, Injuries, and Losses

• Fires (2019): There were 1,291,500 reported fires, a decrease of 3.2% compared to 2010.

• Deaths (2019): Fire-related deaths rose to 3,704, marking a 24.1% increase since 2010.

• Injuries (2019): There were 16,600 injuries, a decline of 12.5% from 2010.

• Dollar Loss (2019): Fire-related damages amounted to $14.8 billion, a 74.5% increase from 2010.

Major direct dollar losses included:

• 2011: Bastrop County, Texas Complex Wildfire – $400 million.

• 2012: Waldo Canyon and High Park Fires, Colorado – $567.4 million total.

• 2013: Black Forest Fire, Colorado – $420.5 million.

• 2015: Valley and Butte Wildfires, California – $1.95 billion.

• 2016: Gatlinburg Wildfires, Tennessee – $911 million.

• 2017: Northern California Wildfires – $10 billion.

• 2018: California Wildfires – $12.4 billion.

Residential Fires

In 2019, there were 354,400 residential building fires. Causes included:

• Cooking: 50.2%

• Heating: 9.3%

• Unintentional, careless actions: 7.7%

• Electrical malfunctions: 6.8%

• Intentional acts: 4.5%

• Open flames: 4.3%

Other causes accounted for smaller percentages, including equipment failure (2.4%) and smoking (2%).

Nonresidential Fires

Nonresidential building fires totaled 110,900 in 2019. Causes were distributed as follows:

• Cooking: 29.9%

• Unintentional, careless actions: 11.5%

• Intentional acts: 10.8%

• Electrical malfunctions: 7.3%

• Heating: 6.7%

Other causes included open flames (5.9%) and natural events (3.4%).

Fire Locations

Fires by property type (2019):

• 40.4% – Outdoors.

• 29.9% – Residential properties.

• 15.1% – Vehicles.

• 9.4% – Nonresidential properties.

• 5.2% – Other locations.

Residential properties accounted for the highest percentage of fire-related deaths (72.2%), injuries (76.4%), and monetary losses (46.4%).

Fire Impact on Demographics

• States with the Most Fire Deaths (2019): California, Texas, and New York.

• Highest Death Rates per Million Population: Alaska, Mississippi, and the District of Columbia.

Gender Disparities:

• Men accounted for 61.6% of fire-related deaths and 59% of injuries.

• Women made up 38.4% of deaths and 41% of injuries.

By Race:

• African American males (19.1 per million) and American Indian males (18.7 per million) experienced the highest fire death rates.

By Age:

• Individuals aged 85 or older had the highest fire death rate (38.0 per million).

• The highest injury rate (66.4 per million) was among individuals aged 50–54.

Firefighters and Fire Departments

Fire Departments (2018):

• Total: 29,705.

  • All career: 10%.

  • Mostly career: 8%.

  • Mostly volunteer: 18%.

  • All volunteer: 64%.

Firefighters (2018):

• Total: 1,115,000.

  • Career firefighters: 370,000.

  • Volunteer firefighters: 745,000.

On-Duty Firefighter Deaths (2019):

• 62 total fatalities.

  • 34 volunteers.

  • 25 career firefighters.

  • 3 wildland firefighters.

Causes included:

• Emergency incident-related activities: 37 deaths.

• Heart attacks: 33 deaths.

• Fire scene activities: 18 deaths.

Firefighter Injuries (2019):

• 23,825 firefighters (39%) were injured on the fireground.

This data highlights the ongoing challenges and risks faced by fire services across the country.