Number of Fires
Public fire departments responded to 1,319,500 fires in 2017, a slight decrease of 2 percent over the previous year.
Of these, 499,000 fires occurred in structures, an increase of 5 percent.
Of the structure fires that occurred in 2017, 357,000, or 72 percent, occurred in home structures, which include one- and two-family homes, manufactured homes, and apartments. This was an increase of 1 percent.
There were also 168,000 fires in highway-type vehicles, a decrease of 3 percent from the previous year.
The 623,000 fires that occurred in outside and other properties represented a decrease of 6 percent.
Every 24 seconds, a United States fire department responds to a fire somewhere in the nation. A fire occurred in a structure at the rate of one every 63 seconds, and a home fire occurs every 88 seconds. Fires occur in highway vehicles at the rate of one every three minutes, eight seconds, and there is a fire in an outside and other property every 51 seconds.
Civilian Fire Deaths
In 2017, 3,400 civilians died in fires, an increase of less than 1 percent from the previous year.
Of these, 2,630, or 77 percent of all fire deaths, occurred in the home, a decrease of 4 percent compared to 2016.
Another 400 civilians died in highway vehicle fires, which represents 12 percent of all fire deaths.
Nationwide, a civilian died in a fire every 2 hours and 34 minutes, and a civilian died in a home fire every 3 hours and 20 minutes.
Civilian Fire Injuries
Last year, 14,670 civilian fire injuries occurred, slight increase over the previous year. Many civilian injuries are not reported to the fire service, and the estimate for civilian injuries may be low.
Of these, 12,160, or 83 percent of all civilian injuries, occurred in structure fires.
Home fires were responsible for 10,600 or 72 percent, of all civilian injuries, in 2017 .
Another 1,370 civilian injuries, or 9 percent of all civilian injuries, occurred in highway vehicle fires.
Nationwide, there was a civilian fire injury every 35 minutes 37 seconds, and a civilian fire injury in home fires every 49 minutes 35 seconds.
Property Damage
An estimated $23 billion in property damage occurred as a result of fire in 2017, a large increase from 2016. This number includes a $10 billion loss in wildfires in Northern California.
Of this, $10.7 billion in property damage occurred in structure fires, including $7.7 billion in property loss in home fires.
Highway vehicle fires resulted in nearly $1.5 billion in property loss last year.
Intentionally Set Fires
An estimated 22,500 fires were intentionally set in 2017, excluding fires whose causes were unknown, an increase of 13 percent over the year before.
Intentionally set fires in structures also resulted in 280 civilian deaths, a decrease of 10 percent from the previous year.
At the same time, intentionally set structure fires resulted in $582 million in property loss, an increase of 23 percent from 2016.
There were 8,500 intentionally set vehicle fires, a decrease of 11 percent from the previous year. These fires resulted in $75 million in property damage, an increase of 88% percent from year before.