“Fire departments in the U.S. responded to over 1.3 million fire incidents in 2017.2 Each
year, thousands of Americans die, tens of thousands of people are injured and property
losses reach billions of dollars as a result of the U.S. fire problem.

“There are huge indirect costs of fire as well, including temporary lodging, lost business
revenues, medical expenses and psychological damage. To put this into context, the
annual losses from floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and other natural disasters combined in the U.S. average just a fraction of those from fires.

“The public, the media and local governments are generally unaware of the magnitude and seriousness of the fire problem and how it affects individuals and their families, communities and the nation.

• By far, the largest percentage of reported deaths — 78% in 2017 — occurred on residential properties, with the majority of these on one- and two-family properties.
• The area with the largest problem is most commonly overlooked — in people’s homes.
• At 52%, cooking was the leading cause of residential building fires. Heating caused another 9%.

The report includes lots of data as it reinforces the critical importance of smoke detectors and sprinkler systems.

Fires are trending down while fire deaths are escalating.

To read the report in full, click on the top graphic or here.