fire facts & stats

Where Fires Occurred - 2006

There were 1,642,500 fires in the United States. Of these:

  • 51.2% were Outside and Other Fires
  • 31.9% were Structure Fires
  • 16.9% were Vehicle Fires
  • Residential fires represented 25.1 percent of all fires and 78.7 percent of structure fires
  • 79.5 percent of all civilian fire fatalities occurred in the home, where home is defined as one- and two-family dwellings and apartments.
  • Of those, approximately 83.5 percent occurred in single-family homes and duplexes.
  • Intentionally set structure fires represented 7.8 percent of all structure property loss
  • 20,500 intentionally set vehicle fires occurred, causing an estimated $134 million in property damage.

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the nature of fire

Every single day in America, people experience the horror of fire somewhere at anytime of the day. If you learn the nature of fire and understand how it "works", only then can you and your family be more safe.

Each year nearly 4,000 Americans die and 20,000 are injured in fires, many of which could be prevented.

In less than 30 seconds a small fire can become a raging fire. It only takes a few short minutes for thick black smoke to form inside your residence and considering most people are sleeping when fires break out, you have no time to grab valuables. Get out immediately!

A fire's heat alone can kill. Room temperatures in a fire can be 100 degrees at floor level and rise to 600 degrees at eye level. Inhaling this super hot air will scorch your lungs. This heat can melt clothes to your skin. In five minutes a room can get so hot that everything in it ignites at once: this is called flashover.