Our statistical reports explore aspects of the U.S. fire problem that affect Americans in their daily lives. Primarily based on data collected through the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS), our reports address the nature and relevance of the specific fire or fire-related problem, highlight important findings, and suggest other resources to consider for further information.
Our latest reports
Fire Risk in 2022
The risk of death or injury from fire is not the same for everyone. This topical fire report explores fire risk for people living in the United States and why for some groups of people, fire risk is more severe.
Fatal Fires in Residential Buildings (2018-2020)
Each year, from 2018 to 2020, an estimated average of 1,900 fatal fires in residential buildings occurred in the U.S.
These fires resulted in an annual estimated average of 2,745 deaths, 625 injuries and $230 million in property loss.
Fire Department Overall Run Profile as Reported to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (2020)
Fire departments provide invaluable services to communities nationwide. To understand their full role in a community, this topical report profiles fire department run activity as reflected in the 2020 National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release file.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the reported calls required emergency medical services and rescue services from fire departments.
Recreational Vehicle Fires (2018-2020)
Each year, from 2018 to 2020, an estimated average of 4,200 recreational vehicle (RV) fires were reported to fire departments within the U.S. Annually, these fires resulted in an estimated average of 15 civilian deaths, 125 civilian injuries and $60,300,000 in loss.
In 36% of the RV fires, the cause of ignition was unintentional actions, followed by failure of equipment or heat source (15%).
Portable Heater Fires in Residential Buildings (2017-2019)
This report describes the characteristics of all portable heater fires in residential buildings reported to the National Fire Incident Reporting System for 2017-2019.
While portable heater fires in residential buildings were only 3% of all heating fires in residential buildings, their consequences were substantial, accounting for 41% of fatal heating fires in residential buildings. Many of these fires were preventable, as human error was a contributing factor to the fire.
Heating Fires in Residential Buildings (2017-2019)
This report describes the characteristics of all heating fires in residential buildings reported to the National Fire Incident Reporting System for 2017-2019.
Although trending downward since the early 1980's, heating fires remained the second leading cause of residential building fires.
Fire in the United States
This collection of reports looks at the U.S. fire problem in 10-year periods, beginning in 1985. The reports provide a statistical overview of the fire problem that can motivate corrective action. They can also be used to select priorities, help target fire programs, and serve as a model for state or local analyses of fire data.
Archived topical fire reports
This spreadsheet contains links to older topical reports that we have archived off our website.
Data sources for our reports
Our reports reflect the most current data year available at the time of analysis. In priority order, we primarily rely on these data sources:
| Source | Data available |
|---|---|
| National Fire Incident Reporting System incident-level data | 10 to 18 months after the end of the calendar year |
| National Center for Health Statistics vital records | 2 plus years after the end of the calendar year |
| National Fire Protection Association survey estimates | 9 months after the end of the calendar year |
Other data sources include the Consumer Price Index and the U.S. Census Bureau.
Methodology documentation
These documents describe the data sources and methodology we use to calculate our fire loss estimates.
- White paper: National Fire Estimation Using NFIRS Data May 2017 PDF
- Data Sources and Methodology Documentation PDF
- National Estimates Methodology for Building Fires and Losses PDF
Topical Fire Report Series
Data sources and methodology documentation.