Number of Fires

• Public fire departments responded to 1,318,500 fires in 2018, only 1,000 fewer than in 2017.

• Of these, 499,000 fires occurred in structures.

• Of the structure fires that occurred in 2018,363,000, or 73 percent, occurred in home structures, including one- and two-family homes, manufactured homes, and apartments. This was an increase of 2 percent.

• There were also 181,500 fires in highway-type vehicles, an increase of 8 percent from the previous year.

• The 607,000 fires that occurred in outside and other properties represented a decrease of 3 percent from the previous year.

• Every 24 seconds, a United States fire department responds to a fire somewhere in the nation. A fire occurs in a structure at the rate of one every 63 seconds, and a home fire occurs every 87 seconds. Fires occur in highway vehicles at the rate of one every 2 minutes 54 seconds, and there is a fire in an outside and other property every 52 seconds.

Civilian Fire Deaths

• In 2018, 3,655 civilians died in fires, an increase of 8 percent from the previous year. This is partially due to the 85 deaths in the Camp Fire in November 2018.

• Of these, 2,720, or 74 percent of all fire deaths, occurred in the home, an increase of 3 percent compared to 2017.

• Another 490 civilians died in highway vehicle fires, which represents 13 percent of all fire deaths.

• Nationwide, a civilian died in a fire every 2 hours and 24 minutes, and a civilian died in a home fire every 3 hours and 13 minutes. Civilian Fire Injuries

• In 2018, fires caused 15,200 civilian fire injuries, a 4 percent increase over the previous year. Many civilian injuries are not reported to the fire service, and the estimate for civilian injuries may be low.

• Of these, 12,700 civilian injuries, or 84 percent of all civilian injuries, occurred in structure fires.

• Home fires were responsible for 11,200 civilian injuries, or 74 percent of all civilian injuries, in 2018.

• Another 1,300 civilian injuries, or 9 percent of all civilian injuries, occurred in highway vehicle fires.

• Nationwide, there was a civilian fire injury every 35 minutes, and a civilian fire injury in home fires every 41 minutes. Property Damage

• An estimated $25.6 billion in property damage occurred as a result of fire in 2018. This number includes over $12 billion in losses from wildfires.

• $11.1 billion in property damage occurred in structure fires, including $8 billion in property loss in home fires.

• Highway vehicle fires resulted in $1.4 billion in property loss last year. Intentionally Set Fires

• An estimated 25,500 fires were intentionally set in 2018, (excluding fires whose causes were unknown), an increase of 13 percent over the year before.

• Intentionally set fires in structures also resulted in 350 civilian deaths, an increase of 25 percent from the previous year.

• At the same time, intentionally set structure fires resulted in $593 million in property loss, an increase of 2 percent from 2017.

• There were 9,500 intentionally set vehicle fires, an increase of 12 percent from the previous year. These fires resulted in $65 million in property damage, a decrease of 13 percent from the year before.