Report: NFPA's "Fires in U.S. Industrial or Manufacturing Properties"
Author: Richard Campbell
Issued: April 2018
Report and fact sheet

Fires in Industrial and Manufacturing Properties
Industrial and manufacturing properties include properties with a variety of property uses, including manufacturing and processing, agriculture, utility or distribution systems, energy production, laboratories, mines or quarries, and forest, timberland, or woodlands. Fires in these properties may involve structures, vehicles, or outside or unclassified fires.
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Industrial and Manufacturing Property Fires
This printable fact sheet includes quick stats from the Fires in U.S Industrial or Manufacturing Properties report.
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Report highlights
- Between 2011 and 2015, municipal fire departments in the U.S. responded to an estimated average of 37,910 fires at industrial or manufacturing properties each year, with annual losses from these fires estimated at 16 civilian deaths, 273 civilian injures, and $1.2 billion in direct property damage.
- Structure fires accounted for 20% of the fires, but 49% of civilian deaths, 80% of civilian injuries, and 67% of direct property damage.
- Electrical distribution and lighting equipment was the leading cause of structure fires in industrial properties, accounting for 24% of the total, while heating was the leading cause of structure fires in manufacturing facilities, accounting for 15% of the total.
- The vast majority of fires (71%) in industrial and manufacturing properties were outside or unclassified fires, which accounted for an estimated average of 3 civilian deaths, 38 civilian injuries, and $265 million in direct property damage each year.
- Vehicle fires accounted for an estimated average of 9% of industrial and manufacturing property fires) each year, with losses estimated at 6 civilian deaths, 17 civilian injuries and $125 million in direct property damage each year.
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