USFA Releases New Residential Building Fire Fatalities Report

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, an estimated 2,495 civilian fire fatalities resulted from 360,900 residential building fires annually from 2009 to 2011. Of the total residential building fires, 1,600 of them resulted in fatalities. The overall fatality rate was nearly six civilian fatalities per 1,000 residential fires.

The USFA reports that 76 percent of all civilian fire injuries relate to injuries occurring in residential buildings. Civilian fire injuries are defined as persons not on active duty with a firefighting organization who are injured as result of a fire. Every 40 minutes someone is injured in a residential building fire, according to the USFA.

cause of residential building fires resulting in injuries 2009-2011

This report focuses on the characteristics of civilian injuries from residential building fires for the period 2009-2011. Thirty-four percent of injuries resulted from trying to control a fire followed by attempting to escape (25 percent).

Findings from this report include:

Source: USFA