Fire Facts

Fire Statistics and Standards

Early-stage response and layered fire protection help keep incidents small before they escalate.
When fires are controlled in the early stages:

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) requires that every building be designed, constructed, and maintained to protect occupants who may not be aware of a fire developing, providing time needed to evacuate, relocate, or defend in place. This approach supports the need for layered fire protection, where multiple systems work together rather than relying on any single safeguard.

Similarly, the International Building Code and International Fire Code establish protection strategies that reduce reliance on any single safeguard to protect building occupants. These codes reinforce the importance of fire protection equipment within a broader safety framework.

Key U.S. Fire Data

The United States has the highest number of people killed by fires each year.*
In 2024, local fire departments responded to an estimated 1.39 million fires in the United States. Of these, about 470,500 occurred in structures, 211,500 in vehicles, and 706,000 in outside and other properties.**
In 2024, a fire department responded to a fire somewhere in the United States every 23 seconds.**
On average in 2024, one structure fire occurred every 67 seconds, and a home structure fire occurred every 96 seconds.**
On average in 2024, fires involving highway vehicles occurred on average every 2 minutes and 57 seconds, and fires on outside or other properties occurred every 45 seconds.**

In 2024, there were an estimated 3,920 civilian (non‑firefighter) fire deaths and 11,780 civilian fire injuries.**
In 2024, home properties accounted for about 75% of civilian fire deaths and 75% of civilian fire injuries.**
Nationwide in 2024, a civilian was fatally injured in a fire every 2 hours and 14 minutes.**
In 2024, structure fires caused an estimated $15.3 billion in direct property damage, including $11.4 billion in property loss from home structure fires.**