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Fire loss in the United States

Report: NFPA's "Fire Loss in the United States During 2021"
Author: Shelby Hall and Ben Evarts
Issued: September 2022

*Errata issued October 25, 2022. Download the errata. (PDF)  

 

Key findings

  • Local fire departments responded to 1,353,500 fires in 2021. These fires caused 3,800 civilian deaths, 14,700 civilian injuries and $15.9 billion in property damage.
  • Every 23 seconds, a fire department in the United States responds to a fire somewhere in the nation. A fire occurs in a structure at the rate of one every 65 seconds, and a home fire occurs every 93 seconds.
  • Seventy-five percent of all fire deaths were caused by home fires. This includes the 64 percent that resulted from fires in one- or two-family homes and the 11 percent caused by fires in apartments or other multi-family housing.
  • Eighteen percent of fire deaths were caused by vehicle fires.

 

Fires by incident type in the United States - 1980-2021
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