Fire loss in the United States

Report

Fire Loss in the United States During 2018

This report contains overall statistics from the NFPA survey of fire departments on fires, civilian deaths and injuries, and property damage in 2018. It also includes patterns by major property class, region and community size as well as information on types of fire department calls and false alarms.

Download the report.

Key findings

• Public fire departments responded to 1,318,500 fires in 2018, virtually the same as the previous year.
• Every 24 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 63 seconds, and a home fire occurs every 87 seconds. 
• Seventy-four percent of all fire deaths occurred in the home.
• Home fires were responsible for 11,200 civilian injuries, or 74% of all civilian injuries, in 2018.
• An estimated $25.6 billion in property damage occurred as a result of fire in 2018, a large increase, as this number includes a $12 billion loss in wildfires in Northern California.
• An estimated 25,500 structure fires were intentionally set in 2018, an increase of 13% over the year before.

Fires in the U.S. during 2018 by type

Older versions of the report

• Fire Loss in the United States During 2017 (PDF)
• Fire Loss in the United States During 2016 (PDF)
  Errata posted July 31, 2019. Download the errata. (PDF)
• Fire Loss in the United States During 2015 (PDF)
• Fire Loss in the United States During 2014 (PDF)
• Fire Loss in the United States During 2013 (PDF)
• Fire Loss in the United States During 2012 (PDF)
• Fire Loss in the United States During 2011 (PDF)
• Fire Loss in the United States During 2009 (PDF)
• Fire Loss in the United States During 2007 (PDF)
• Fire Loss in the United States During 2006 (PDF)
• Fire Loss in the United States During 2005 (PDF)
• Fire Loss in the United States During 2004 (PDF)
• Fire Loss in the United States During 2003 (PDF)

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