FIRE LOSS IN THE UNITED STATES DURING 2005

Every 20 seconds, a fire department responds to a fire somewhere in the nation.

A fire occurs in a structure at the rate of one every 60 seconds.

A Residential fire occurs every 77 seconds.

Fires occur in vehicles at the rate of 1 every 106 seconds.

There's a fire in an outside property every 43 seconds.

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Number of Fires

In 2005, public fire departments responded to 1,602,000 fires in the United States.
According to estimates based on data the NFPA received from fire departments responding to its 2005 National Fire Experience Survey. This represents an increase of 3.3% from 2004.

• 1,602,000 fires were attended by public fire departments, a slight decrease of 2.2% from the year before.
• 511,000 fires occurred in structures, a very slight increase of 1.3%.
• 396,000 fires or 77.5% of all structure fires occurred in residential properties a decrease of 3.7% from the year 2004.
• 297,000 fires occurred in vehicles, a decrease of 4.8% from the year before.
• 727,500 fires occurred in outside properties, a decrease of 3.4%.

Of the residential structure fires, 287,000 occurred in one- and two-family dwellings, accounting for 56.2 percent of all structure fires. Another 94,000 occurred in apartments accounting for 18.4 percent of all structure fires.

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Civilian Fire Deaths

• 3,675 civilian fire deaths occurred in 2005, a decrease of 5.8% from a year ago.
• About 83% of all fire deaths occurred in the home.
• 3,055 civilian fire deaths occurred in the home during 2005, a decrease of 5.3%.
• 80 civilians died in nonresidential structure fires.
• 520 civilians died in highway vehicle fires.
• Nationwide, there was a civilian fire death every 135 minutes.

Of these deaths, 460 occurred in apartment fires, a decrease of 9.8%. Another 3,030 civilians died in one and two-family dwelling fires, a decrease of 4.1%.

With home fire deaths accounting for 83% of all civilian deaths, fire safety initiatives targeted at the home remain the key to any reductions in the overall fire death toll.

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Civilian Fire Injuries

• 17,925 civilian fire injuries occurred in 2005, an increase of 0.3%. This estimate for civilian injuries is on the low side, due to under reporting of civilian injuries to the fire service.
• 13,825 of all civilian injuries occurred in residential properties a decrease of 2.5%.
• 1,500 occurred in nonresidential structure fires an increase of 11.1%.
• Nationwide, there was a civilian fire injury every 30 minutes.

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Property Damage

• An estimated $10,672,000,000 in property damage occurred as a result of fire in 2004, a significant increase of 10.6% from last year.
• $9,193,000,000 of property damage occurred in structure fires.
• $93,000,000 of property loss occurred in outside structures(storage buildings, crops etc).

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Intentionally Set Fires

• An estimated 31,500 intentionally set structure fires occurred in 2005, a decrease of 13.7%.
• Intentionally set fires in structures resulted in 315 civilian deaths, a decrease of 1.6% from a year ago.
• Intentionally set structure fires also resulted in $664,000,000 in property loss, a decrease of 7% from last year.

NFPA Fire Analysis and Research, Quincy, MA

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