Fire loss in the United States

Report

Fire Loss in the United States During 2020

NFPA’s annual fire department experience survey found that local fire departments responded to an estimated 1,388,500 fires in 2020. This report provides 2020 estimates and trends for reported fires, civilian deaths and injuries, and direct property loss overall, and by broad property classes and incident types.

Download the report.

Trend Tables

The tables in this document are a companion to the report of the same name.

Download the tables

Key findings

• Local fire departments responded to 1,338,500 fires in 2020. These fires caused 3,500 civilian deaths, 15,200 civilian injuries and $21.9 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 64 seconds, and a home fire occurs every 89 seconds. 
• Seventy-four 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 10 percent caused by fires in apartments or other multi-family housing.
• Eighteen percent of fire deaths were caused by vehicle fires.

Related information

• Fire Loss in the United States During 2019 (PDF)

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