Fire losses
Great strides have been made in constructing fire-resistant buildings and improving fire-suppression techniques, both of which have reduced the incidence of fire. However, in terms of property losses, these advances have been somewhat offset by increases in the number and value of buildings.
In 2019 a fire department responded to a fire on average every 24 seconds in the United States, according to the National Fire Protection Association. A home fire was reported every 93 seconds, a home fire death occurred every three hours and 10 minutes, and a home fire injuryoccurred every 43 minutes.
Fire losses as shown in the chart below for homeowners, commercial multiple peril and fire insurance fell 20.9 percent from 2018 to 2019. In 2017 and 2018 fire losses rose 53.5 percent and 28.7 percent, respectively, reflecting the high losses from wildfires.
Fire Losses in The United States, 2010-2019 (1)
Year |
Property loss ($ millions) |
Loss per capita (2) |
2010 |
$20,486 |
$66.23 |
2011 |
19,511 |
62.62 |
2012 |
23,977 |
76.40 |
2013 |
19,054 |
60.30 |
2014 |
21,801 |
68.49 |
2015 |
19,759 |
61.62 |
2016 |
23,789 |
73.66 |
2017 |
36,510 |
112.34 |
2018 |
46,972 |
143.78 |
2019 |
37,135 |
113.13 |
|
(1) Including allowances for FAIR Plan and uninsured losses.
(2) Calculated by the Insurance Information Institute using ISO property loss and population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division.
Source: ISO®, a Verisk Analytics® business; U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division.
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Fire Losses In The United States, By Line Of Insurance, 2019 (1)
(1) Estimated. Includes FAIR plan and uninsured losses.
Source: ISO®, a Verisk Analytics® business.
View Archived Graphs
Structure fires
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports that there were 481,500 structure fires in the United States in 2019, down 3.5 percent from 2018. Of note, the number of structure fires in 2016 was the lowest since the NFPA began collecting data in 1977.
Structure fires caused $12.3 billion in property damage in 2019, up 10.8 percent from $11.4 billion in 2018. The average loss for these structure fires was $25,545, up 14.8 percent from 2018. Vehicle and outside fires caused another $2.5 billion in property damage, bringing the total property loss from fires to $14.8 billion.
Public assembly fires include fires in eating and drinking places and other entertainment venues, houses of worship and other places where people congregate. There are approximately 7,410 structure fires in eating and drinking establishments each year, according to a NFPA report based on data between 2010 and 2014.
According to the NFPA, fires in nightclubs are among the most deadly public occupancy fires, because they contain a large number of people in one main space. The deadliest nightclub fire in world history was the 1942 Cocoanut Grove fire in Boston, Massachusetts which claimed 492 lives followed by a fire at a disco/dance hall in Luoyang, China in December, 2000 that claimed 309 lives. A January, 2013 fire at the KISS night club in Brazil ranked third, claiming 242 lives. The 2003 Station Fire in Rhode Island claimed 100 lives, and ranks as number ten.
Structure Fires, 2010-2019 (1)
|
|
Direct property damage (2) ($ billions) |
|
Direct property damage (2) ($ billions) |
Year |
Number of fires |
As reported |
In 2020 dollars (3) |
Year |
Number of fires |
As reported |
In 2020 dollars (3) |
2010 |
482,000 |
$9.7 |
$11.5 |
2015 |
501,500 |
$10.3 |
$11.2 |
2011 |
484,500 |
9.7 |
11.1 |
2016 |
475,500 |
7.8 |
8.4 |
2012 |
480,500 |
9.8 |
11.1 |
2017 |
499,000 |
10.7 |
11.3 |
2013 |
487,500 |
9.5 |
10.5 |
2018 |
499,000 |
11.1 |
11.4 |
2014 |
494,000 |
9.8 |
10.7 |
2019 |
481,500 |
12.3 |
12.4 |
|
(1) Estimates based on data reported by fire departments responding to the 2019 National Fire Experience Survey. May exclude reports from all fire departments.
(2) Does not include damage from major wildfires.
(3) Calculated from unrounded numbers by the Insurance Information Institute using the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics' Inflation Calculator.
Source: Reproduced with permission from Fire Loss in the United States During 2019 by Marty Ahrens and Ben Evarts, ©2020 National Fire Protection Association. www.nfpa.org.
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Reported Fires By Property Use, 2019 (1)
Property use |
Fires |
Property loss (2)
($ millions) |
Structures |
481,500 |
$12,287 |
Residential |
361,500 |
7,976 |
Home |
339,500 |
7,767 |
One- and two-family homes (3) |
264,500 |
6,428 |
Apartments and other multi-family |
75,000 |
1,339 |
Other residential structures (4) |
22,000 |
209 |
Non-residential (5) |
120,000 |
4,311 |
Vehicle fire |
223,000 |
2,229 |
Highway vehicle fire |
189,500 |
1,645 |
Other vehicle fire |
33,500 |
584 |
Outside and other fire |
587,000 |
304 |
Fire outside but no vehicle (6) |
70,500 |
206 |
Fires in brush, grass, or wildlands (7) |
244,500 |
NA |
Outside rubbish fire |
177,500 |
NA |
All other fire |
94,500 |
98 |
Total |
1,291,500 |
$14,820 |
|
(1) Estimates based on data reported by fire departments responding to the 2019 National Fire Experience Survey. May exclude reports from all fire departments.
(2) Includes overall direct property loss to contents, structures, vehicles, machinery, vegetation or any other property involved in a fire. Excludes indirect losses, such as business interruption or temporary shelter costs.
(3) Includes manufactured homes.
(4) Includes hotels and motels, dormitories, rooming houses, residential board and care properties, and other residential properties.
(5) Public assembly, educational, institutional, retail, office, manufacturing, and industrial or utility properties.
(6) Outside storage, crops, timber, etc.
(7) Excludes crops and timber, with no value or loss involved.
NA=Data not available.
Source: Reproduced with permission from Fire Loss in the United States During 2019 by Marty Ahrens and Ben Evarts, ©2020 National Fire Protection Association. www.nfpa.org.
Top 10 Costliest Large-Loss Fires, 2019 (1)
Rank |
State |
Month |
Type of facility |
Estimated loss |
1 |
Texas |
November |
Petrochemical plant |
$1,100.0 |
2 |
California |
October |
Wildfire |
383.8 |
3 |
California |
June |
Restaurant |
36.0 |
4 |
California |
June |
Helicopter |
30.0 |
4 |
Texas |
July |
Power generation plant |
30.0 |
5 |
Ohio |
February |
Shipboard fire (In port for repairs) |
25.0 |
6 |
California |
October |
Wildfire |
20.5 |
6 |
Tennessee |
September |
Metal refining |
20.5 |
7 |
North Carolina |
April |
Coffee shop gas explosion and fire |
20.0 |
7 |
Massachusetts |
March |
Manufacturing |
20.0 |
|
(1) Large-loss fires of $20 million or more in 2019.
Note: Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data.
Source: National Fire Protection Association www.nfpa.org.
View Archived Tables
Top 10 Costliest Large-Loss Fires In U.S. History
|
|
|
Estimated loss (1) |
Rank |
Date |
Location/event |
Dollars when occurred |
In 2020 dollars (2) |
1 |
Sep. 11, 2001 |
World Trade Center (terrorist attacks) |
$33,400 |
$48, 536 (3) |
2 |
Oct. 8, 2017 |
Northern CA Wildland Urban Interface fire |
10,000 |
10,504 |
3 |
Apr. 18, 1906 |
San Francisco Earthquake and Fire |
350 |
9,973 |
4 |
Nov. 8, 2018 |
Camp Wildland Urban Interface fire |
8,500 |
8,738 |
5 |
Oct. 8-9, 1871 |
Great Chicago Fire |
168 |
3,599 |
6 |
Nov. 8, 2018 |
Woolsey Wildland Urban Interface fire |
2,900 |
2,981 |
7 |
Oct. 20, 1991 |
Oakland, CA, firestorm |
1,500 |
2,829 |
8 |
Oct. 20, 2007 |
San Diego County, CA, The Southern California Firestorm |
1,800 |
2,232 |
9 |
Dec. 14, 2017 |
Southern CA Wildland Urban Interface fire |
1,800 |
1,892 |
10 |
Sep. 12, 2015 |
Valley Fire, CA, Wildland Urban Interface fire |
1,500 |
1,633 |
|
(1) Loss estimates are from National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) records. The list is limited to fires for which some reliable dollar loss estimates exists.
(2) Adjustment to 2020 dollars made by the Insurance Information Insitute using the Consumer Price Index.
(3) Differs from inflation-adjusted estimates made by other organizations due to the use of different deflators.
Source: ©National Fire Protection Association. www.nfpa.org
View Archived Tables
Top Catastrophic Multiple-Death Fires and Explosions, 2019 (1)
Rank (2) |
Month |
State |
Type of facility |
Deaths |
1 |
September |
California |
Dive boat |
34 |
2 |
October |
Connecticut |
Airplane crash and fire |
7 |
3 |
May |
New York |
Apartment building |
6 |
3 |
June |
Wisconsin |
Single-family home |
6 |
3 |
December |
Nevada |
Apartment building |
6 |
4 |
February |
California |
Aircraft in single-family home |
5 |
4 |
February |
New York |
Single-family home |
5 |
4 |
April |
Illinois |
Single-family home |
5 |
4 |
August |
Pennsylvania |
Day care |
5 |
4 |
November |
Minnesota |
Apartment building |
5 |
4 |
December |
Alabama |
Single-family home |
5 |
|
(1) Fires or explosions that kill five or more people in residential property, or three or more people in nonhome or nonstructural property.
(2) Fires with the same number of deaths receive the same rank.
Source: National Fire Protection Association. www.nfpa.org.
View Archived Tables
Top 10 Most Catastrophic Multiple-Death Fires In U.S. History (1)
1 |
Sep. 11, 2001 |
New York, NY, World Trade Center terrorist attack |
2,666 (2) |
2 |
Apr. 27, 1865 |
Mississippi River, SS Sultana steamship |
1,547 |
3 |
Oct. 8, 1871 |
Peshtigo, WI, forest fire |
1,152 |
4 |
Jun. 15, 1904 |
New York, NY, General Slocum steamship |
1,030 |
5 |
Dec. 30, 1903 |
Chicago, IL, Iroquois Theater |
602 |
6 |
Oct. 12, 1918 |
Cloquet, MN, forest fire |
559 |
7 |
Nov. 28, 1942 |
Boston, MA, Cocoanut Grove night club |
492 |
8 |
Apr. 16, 1947 |
Texas City, TX, SS Grandcamp and Monsanto Chemical Co. plant |
468 |
9 |
Sep. 1, 1894 |
Hinckley, MN, forest fire |
418 |
10 |
Dec. 6, 1907 |
Monongha, WV, coal mine explosion |
361 |
|
(1) Fires that kill five or more people in home property, or three or more people in nonhome or nonstructural property.
(2) Revised to 2,976 by government officials.
Source: Reproduced with permission, © 2019, National Fire Protection Association www.nfpa.org.
Large loss fires
March 25, 2011, marked the 100-year anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. The blaze that swept through a New York City sweatshop killing 146 garment workers ushered in a new era of fire safety in the American workplace, according to the National Fire Protection Association. The September 11, 2001, World Trade Center conflagration was the deadliest, as well as the most costly, building fire in U.S. history.
TOP 20 DEADLIEST LARGE-LOSS FIRES IN THE UNITED STATES (1)
1 |
Sep. 11, 2001 |
The World Trade Center |
New York, NY |
2,666 |
2 |
Dec. 30, 1903 |
Iroquois Theatre |
Chicago, IL |
602 |
3 |
Nov. 28, 1942 |
Cocoanut Grove night club |
Boston, MA |
492 |
4 |
Apr. 21, 1930 |
Ohio State Penitentiary |
Columbus, OH |
320 |
5 |
Mar. 18, 1937 |
Consolidated School gas explosion |
New London, TX |
294 |
6 |
Dec. 5, 1876 |
Conway's Theatre |
Brooklyn, NY |
285 |
7 |
Apr. 23, 1940 |
Rhythm Club |
Natchez, MS |
207 |
8 |
Mar. 4, 1908 |
Lakeview Grammar School |
Collinwood, OH |
175 |
9 |
Jan. 12, 1908 |
Rhodes Opera House |
Boyertown, PA |
170 |
10 |
Jul. 6, 1944 |
Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus |
Hartford, CT |
168 |
10 |
Apr. 19, 1995 |
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building |
Oklahoma City, OK |
168 |
12 |
May 28, 1977 |
Beverly Hills Supper Club |
Southgate, KY |
165 |
13 |
Mar. 25, 1911 |
Triangle Shirtwaist Company |
New York, NY |
146 |
14 |
Apr. 10, 1917 |
Eddystone Ammunition Company plant explosion |
Eddystone, PA |
133 |
15 |
May 15, 1929 |
Cleveland Clinic Hospital |
Cleveland, OH |
125 |
16 |
Dec. 7, 1946 |
Winecoff Hotel |
Atlanta, GA |
119 |
17 |
Feb. 20, 2003 |
The Station Nightclub |
W. Warwick, RI |
100 |
18 |
Dec. 1, 1958 |
Our Lady of the Angels School |
Chicago, IL |
95 |
19 |
Mar. 25, 1990 |
Happy Land Social Club |
New York, NY |
87 |
20 |
Nov. 21, 1980 |
MGM Grand Hotel |
Las Vegas, NV |
85 |
|
(1) Based on deadliest single-builiding or complex fires and explosions.
Source: National Fire Protection Association.
Holiday fire losses
Fireworks
- Fireworks caused an estimated 19,500 fires in 2018, including 1,900 structure fires, 500 vehicle fires, and 17,100 outside and other fires. Five deaths resulted from fireworks-started fires, along with 46 civilian injuries, and $105 million in direct property damage.
- In 2018 hospital emergency rooms treated an estimated 9,100 people for fireworks related injuries. Half of those injuries were to the extremities and 34 percent were to the eye or other parts of the head. Forty-four percent of the emergency department-treated injuries were burns. Children younger than 15 years of age accounted for more than one-third (36 percent) of the injuries, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s 2018 Fireworks Annual Report.
Home fires
- The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) says Thanksgiving Day is the peak day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas Day, the day before Thanksgiving, Easter, and Christmas Eve. In 2018, U.S. fire departments responded to about 1,630 cooking fires on Thanksgiving.
- U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated annual average of 200 home structure fires that began with Christmas trees from 2011 to 2015, according to a fact sheet from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
- On average, one out of every 32 reported home Christmas tree fires resulted in a death, compared to an average of one death per 143 reported home fires.
- Home Christmas tree fires caused an average of six civilian deaths, 16 civilian injuries and $14.8 million in direct property damage annually from 2011 to 2015.
- Electrical distribution or lighting equipment was involved in two out of five (40 percent) of the home Christmas tree structure fires. About one-quarter (26 percent) occurred because some type of heat source was too close to the tree. Decorative lights were involved in 18 percent of these incidents. Eight percent of home Christmas tree fires were started by candles.
- The top three days for home candle fires were Christmas, New Year’s Day and New Year’s Eve, according to another NFPA fact sheet.
- During 2011-2015, the NFPA estimates that 12 percent of December candle fires began with decorations. These fires caused an estimated average of one civilian death, 41 civilian injuries and $13.4 million in direct property damage per year, according to an NFPA fact sheet.
- Candle fires peaked in December (11%). January and November ranked second, each with 10% of home candle fires.
- During the five-year-period of 2011-2015, 8,690 home structure fires were caused by candles each year. They caused an annual average of 82 civilian fire deaths, 800 civilian fire injuries and $295 million in direct property damage.
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