Heating Fires in Residential Buildings (2017-2019)
Topical Fire Report Series | December 2021 | Volume 21, Issue 10
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.
At a Glance
From 2017 to 2019, an estimated average of
34,200 heating fires in residential buildings
were reported to U.S. fire departments each year.
These fires caused an estimated annual average of:
165 deaths
600 injuries
$367 million in property loss
Heating was the second leading cause of all residential building fires, following cooking.
Residential building heating fires peaked in the early evening hours from 5 to 9 p.m., with the highest peak from 6 to 8 p.m.
Residential building heating fire incidence peaked in January at 20% and declined to the lowest point during the months of June, July and August.
Confined fires, specifically those fires confined to chimneys, flues or fuel burners, accounted for 77% of residential building heating fires.
The heat source was too close to combustibles in 27% of the nonconfined residential building heating fires.
Smoke alarms were present in 56% of nonconfined heating fires in occupied residential buildings.
These topical reports are designed to explore facets of the U.S. fire problem as depicted through data collected in the U.S. Fire Administration’s National Fire Incident Reporting System. Each topical report briefly addresses the nature of the specific fire or fire-related topic, highlights important findings from the data, and may suggest other resources to consider for further information.