• Overall fire statistics
• Major causes
• Appliances & equipment
• Economic impacts
• Fire protection systems
• Fire service statistics
• International comparisons
• Occupancies
• Regional/community patterns
• Vehicles
• Victim patterns
• Miscellaneous
• Non-fire incidents
• Errata

Overall fire statistics

Large-Loss Fires in the United States-2008
Stephen G. Badger, November 2009
Cost: $10.00 (free to the fire service).  26 pages. Order # LLS08.
Incident descriptions and summary statistics on fires causing $10,000,000 or more in damage in 2008.
All visitors: Download this report.  (PDF, 159 KB)

Catastrophic Multiple-Death Fires for 2008
Stephen G. Badger, September 2009
Cost: $10.00 (free to the fire service). 18 pages. Order # MDS08.
Incident descriptions and summary statistics on fires causing at least 5 deaths.
NFPA members: Download this report.  (PDF, 79 KB)

Fire Loss in the United States During 2008
Michael J. Karter, Jr., August 2009. 43 pages.
This report contains overall statistics from the NFPA survey of fire departments on fires, civilian deaths and injuries, and property damage in 2008. Includes patterns by major property class. Includes patterns by major property class, region and community size as well as information on types of fire department calls and false alarms.

Abstract: U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 1,451,500 fires. These fires resulted in 3,320 civilian fire fatalities, 16,705 civilian fire injuries and an estimated $15,478,000,000 in direct property loss. (The direct property loss includes the California Wildfires 2008 with an estimated property loss of $1,400,000,000.) There was a civilian fire death every 158 minutes and a civilian fire injury every 31 minutes in 2008. Home fires caused 2,755, or 83%, of the civilian fire deaths. Fires accounted for six percent of the 25,252,500 total calls. Nine percent of the calls were false alarms; sixty-two percent of the calls were for aid such as EMS.
All visitors: Download this report. (PDF, 244 KB)
All visitors: Download a fact sheet on fire loss in the U.S. during 2008. (PDF, 98 KB)

Trends and Patterns of U.S. Fire Losses in 2008
Marty Ahrens, September 2009. 19 pages.
Using data from current and previous editions of Fire Loss in the United States, this analysis shows trends in fires and associated losses over time.  Fire loss data for 2008 are also grouped by incident type.

Abstract: Projections from NFPA’s annual fire department experience data reported in Michael Karter’s annual reports on U.S. Fire Loss, particularly the most recent report, are summarized in this analysis. Reported fires and fire deaths have fallen since 1977, the first year of available data. The drop in population-based rates is even sharper. In 2008, home structure fires accounted for 27% of the reported fires. However, these incidents caused 83% of all civilian fire deaths. Vehicle fires accounted for 16% of the reported fires and 11% of the civilian fire deaths. Roughly half (48%) of the reported fires were outside or other non-structure, non-vehicle fires. In 2008, only 6% of all fire department responses were to fires while 62% were medical aid responses. 
All visitors: Download this report. (PDF, 233 KB)

A Few Facts at the Household Level
Fire Analysis and Research Division, July 2009
Cost: $10.00 (free to the fire service). 6 pages. Order USS81
Have you ever wondered what your personal risk of fire is over your lifetime? Or how the fire risk from smoking – when you’re not the smoker – compares with the other risks to non-smokers from smoking? These and many other examples of fire statistics at the individual or household level are presented as a collection of conversation-starters in this short report.
All visitors:  Download this report. (PDF, 73 KB)