Fire Safety Information

Fire statistics

Fires in the U.S.

In 2016, there were 1,342,000 fires reported in the United States. These fires caused 3,390 civilian deaths, 14,650 civilian injuries, and $10.6 billion in property damage.

• 475,500 were structure fires, causing 2,950 civilian deaths, 12,775 civilian injuries, and $7.9 billion in property damage.
• 173,000 were vehicle fires, causing 280 civilian fire deaths, 1,075 civilian fire injuries, and $933 million in property damage.
• 662,500 were outside and other fires, causing 85 civilian fire deaths, 650 civilian fire injuries, and $1.4 billion in property damage.

The 2016 U.S. fire loss clock a fire department responded to a fire every 24 seconds. One structure fire was reported every 66 seconds.

• One home structure fire was reported every 90 seconds.
• One civilian fire injury was reported every 34 minutes.
• One civilian fire death occurred every 2 hours and 35 minutes.
• One outside and other fire was reported every 48 seconds.
• One highway vehicle fire was reported every 3 minutes 2 seconds.

 Fire Loss Facts 2016 - UPDATED December 4, 2017

Large-Loss Fires In The United States

Report: NFPA's "The Total Cost of Fire in the United States" (PDF, 725 KB)

Author: John R. Hall, Jr.

Issued: March 2014

Includes human and economic losses, costs of the fire service, built-in fire protection, and costs associated with the insurance industry.

 Report highlights

• In 2016, 25 fires in the United States resulted in losses of at least $10 million each, for a cumulative total of $1.4 billion in direct property losses.  These fires accounted for 14 civilian deaths, 183 civilian injuries and eight firefighter injuries.

• The largest fire in terms of direct property loss was the Chimney Tops 2 Fire, in Tennessee, with a loss of $911 million.  The second largest was the Clayton Fire, a California wildfire that resulted in $175 million in damage.

• Of the 25 large-loss fires in 2016, 22 involved structures and resulted in a total property loss of $348.6 million. The other fires included the two Wildland Urban Interface fires and one vehicle fire (a towboat) that resulted in combined losses of $1.1 billion.