• The U.S. fire problem
• The U.S. fire service
• Deadliest/large-loss fires
• Key dates in fire history
• Printable fact sheets

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The U.S. fire problem

Free reproducible fact sheets An Overview of the U.S. Fire Problem (PDF, 142 KB)   Fire in the U.S. in 2008 (PDF, 71 KB)   U.S. fire loss clock in 2008 (PDF, 98 KB)

In 2008, there were 1,451,500 fires reported in the United States (down 7% from 2007). These fires caused 3,320 civilian deaths, 16,705 civilian injuries, and $15.5 billion in property damage. (Property damage includes the California wildfires in 2008 with an estimated property loss of $1.4 billion)

• 515,000 were structure fires (down 3% from 2007), causing 2,900 civilian deaths, 14,960 civilian injuries, and $12.4 billion in property damage.
• 236,000 were vehicle fires (down 9% from 2007), causing 365 civilian fire deaths, 1,065 civilian fire injuries, and $1.5 billion in property damage.
• 700,500 were outside and other fires (down 9% from 2007), causing 55 civilian fire deaths, 680 civilian fire injuries, and $0.2 billion in property damage.

The 2008 U.S. fire loss clock

• A fire department responded to a fire every 22 seconds.
• One structure fire was reported every 61 seconds.
• One home structure fire was reported every 82 seconds
• One civilian fire injury was reported every 31 minutes.
• One civilian fire death occurred every 2 hours and 38 minutes.
• One outside fire was reported every 45 seconds.
• One vehicle fire was reported every 134 seconds.

All visitors: Download NFPA's report, "Fire Loss in the United States During 2008" (PDF, 244 KB)

See more detailed trend information about the U.S. fire problem on the pages below.

		Overview of the U.S. fire problem
		Home fires
		Homes Fires with Ten or More Fatalities
		One- and two-family home fires (includes manufactured homes)
		Structure fires
		Residential structure fires
		Non-residential structure fires
		Apartment structure fires
		Non-home structure fires
		U.S. highway vehicle fires