September 9, 2014 – Every 25 seconds, a fire department responds to a fire somewhere in the U.S., according to a new report released by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The report, "Fire Loss in the United States during 2013", provides a comprehensive look at fires in the U.S., including civilian fire deaths and injuries, property damage and intentionally set fires.
In 2013, there were:
The number of reported fires in the United States fell to a historic low in 2013, and overall property damage due to fire declined from 2012—but civilian fire deaths increased.
Last year, there was:
Other key findings from the report:
In 2013, there were:
- 1,240,000 fires responded to by public fire departments, a decrease of 9.8 percent from the year before
- 3,240 civilian deaths, an increase of 13.5 percent since 2012
- 15,925 injuries as a result of fire, a decrease of 3.5 percent.
The number of reported fires in the United States fell to a historic low in 2013, and overall property damage due to fire declined from 2012—but civilian fire deaths increased.
Last year, there was:
- a civilian fire injury every 33 minutes
- a civilian fire death every 2 hours and 42 minutes
- a home fire every 85 seconds.
Other key findings from the report:
- property damage of roughly $11.5 billion occurred as a result of fire
- $7 billion of property loss was from home fires
- intentionally set fires in structures decreased across the board, with a fall by 16.7 percent in civilian deaths and 0.7 percent reduction in property damage.
