Damages due to fire can be catastrophic, especially when you overlook the warning signs or don’t have an ideal response plan. Fire damages in the United States have made life difficult for both people and animals in many ways, especially in the past couple of years.

Did you know that fire loss attributes to $14.8 billion in 2019?  This is the highest fire loss recorded since 2001.

This article features some statistics related to fire damage and its consequences in the United States.

Residential Fire Reports (2017-19)

As per the reports by USFA, the US Fire department attended to an average of 187,500 residential cooking-related fires.

These fires attributed to an estimate of 165 deaths, 3325 injuries, and $444 million in property losses. Confined cooking fires were the primary cause of residential fires.

About 83% of the nonconfined cooking fire proved to be nonfatal, i.e., the fire damage was limited to the object or the room of fire origin. Unattended equipment was the leading cause of ignition in nonconfined cooking fires in residential buildings.

Residential fire Causes

In 2019, the national estimates for the leading cause of the residential fire were:

• 178,100 cooking fires.
• 33,100 heating fires.
• 27,200 other unintentional, careless fires.
• 24,200 electrical malfunction fires.

The conclusive fire cause trends from the previous decade’s statistics are as follows:

• Cooking remains the leading cause of residential property fires.
• There was a 10% increase in the residential cooking fires
• There was a 32% drop in the heating fires in residential properties
• A 22% increase in unintentional fires or fires due to carelessness
• A .8% increase in the fires due to electrical malfunction

Residential Fire Dollar Loss

The monetary loss due to residential fires in 2019 could be summarized as follows:

• $1,570,900,000 loss from other unintentional, careless fires.
• $1,208,300,000 loss from electrical malfunction fires.
• $645,400,000 loss from open flame fires.

The conclusive dollar loss trends from the previous decade’s statistics are as follows:

• Unintentional or careless fires were the prime causes that led to significant financial loss.
• An increase in carelessly set fire dollar loss by 30%.
• A total of 63 fire incidents in 2018 and 2019 led to a dollar loss of $1,000,000 or more.
• A 9% increase in fire dollar loss due to electrical malfunction
• A total of 46 fire incidents in 2018 and 2019 led to a dollar loss of $1,000,000 or more.
• A staggering dollar loss of $26,400,000 hotel fire in New Orleans, Louisiana in 2019
• A 5% fall of residential open fame fire dollar loss

Residential Fire Injuries

In 2019, the national estimates for leading residential fire injuries were:

• 3,550 cooking fire injuries.
• 1,650 other unintentional, careless fire injuries.
• 1,050 electrical malfunction fire injuries.
• 1,000 open flame fire injuries.

The conclusive fire injury trends from the previous decade’s statistics are as follows:

• Cooking was the leading cause of residential fire injuries in the past ten years
• Residential cooking fire-related injuries fell by 19%
• A 9% increase in injuries from carelessly set fire
• A 20% fall in injuries from an electrical malfunction
• A 24% decrease in injuries from residential open flame incidents

The residential fire continues to inflict pain the property damages, injuries, dollar loss, and even deaths. Preventing a residential fire is an absolute priority for any property owner, but most people overlook the fire risks or vulnerabilities in plain sight. Following the ideal fire prevention protocols, engaging with the right fire technicians, and being knowledgeable about the latest fire protection technology are imperative to ensure the safety of your family and property.

Credits: FEMA