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

Table of Contents

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.

US fires 2010-2019

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%).

Residential buildings fire causes 2010-2019

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.