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 2011 (PDF, 54 KB)


U.S. fire loss clock in 2011 (PDF, 129 KB)


In 2011, there were 1,389,500 fires reported in the United States. These fires caused 3,005 civilian deaths, 17,500 civilian injuries, and $11.7 billion in property damage.

  • 484,500 were structure fires, causing 2,640 civilian deaths, 15,635 civilian injuries, and $9.7 billion in property damage.
  • 219,000 were vehicle fires, causing 300 civilian fire deaths, 1,190 civilian fire injuries, and $1.4 billion in property damage.
  • 686,000 were outside and other fires, causing 65 civilian fire deaths, 675 civilian fire injuries, and $616 million in property damage.

The 2011 U.S. fire loss clock A fire department responded to a fire every 23 seconds. One structure fire was reported every 65 seconds.

  • One home structure fire was reported every 85 seconds.
  • One civilian fire injury was reported every 30 minutes.
  • One civilian fire death occurred every 2 hours and 55 minutes.
  • One outside fire was reported every 46 seconds.
  • One vehicle fire was reported every 144 seconds.

See NFPA's report, "Fire Loss in the United States During 2011"

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

Bottom blue line

Free access     NEC      Sparky the Fire Dog       NFPA Journal         Sprinklers       Wildland fires