Contents
- Home heating fire incidents statistics: annual fire, death, injury, and loss trends
- Home heating fire incidents statistics: recent annual estimates
- Home heating fire incidents statistics: portable-heater incidents and risks
- Home heating fire incidents: seasonal patterns and ignition factors
- Home heating fire incidents: equipment involved in one- and two-family home fires
- Home heating fire incidents: furnaces, heaters, fireplaces, and chimneys
- Sources
Home heating fire incidents statistics: annual fire, death, injury, and loss trends
Home heating fire statistics track several outcomes: estimated fires, deaths, injuries, and property loss. Each measure answers a different question, and the national figures below are estimates based on reports from local fire-response agencies. For 2014, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) estimated 47,600 residential-building heating fires, 245 deaths, and 850 injuries. The reported dollar loss was $777,700,000.
| Measure | 2014 U.S. estimate |
|---|---|
| Residential-building heating fires | 47,600 |
| Deaths | 245 |
| Injuries | 850 |
| Dollar loss | $777,700,000 |
USFA reported that between 2014 and 2023, residential-building heating fires decreased 31%, deaths decreased 44%, and injuries decreased 14%. Dollar loss decreased 17% over the same period after each year’s loss was adjusted to its equivalent 2023 value. That inflation adjustment applies to the trend comparison; the 2014 loss shown above is the reported historical amount. These percentages summarize the endpoints of the 10-year period, not a yearly rate. Source: USFA, Residential Building Heating Fire Trends (2014–2023)
The measures do not move in lockstep: the reported decrease in deaths was larger than the decreases in fires or injuries, while the inflation-adjusted loss trend captures a different outcome. They should be read as separate indicators rather than combined into a single measure of fire risk. The underlying estimates draw on fire-department reports, and USFA notes that methods and data definitions may change. This makes the stated year range and measure important context when comparing historical figures. Source: USFA, Residential Building Heating Fire Trends (2014–2023)
Home heating fire incidents statistics: recent annual estimates
In 2024, USFA estimated 27,200 residential-building heating fires, 145 deaths, and 475 injuries. The reported dollar loss was $445,900,000. These are national estimates for 2024, not a forecast or a count of every incident individually confirmed nationwide.
| Measure | 2024 U.S. estimate |
|---|---|
| Residential-building heating fires | 27,200 |
| Deaths | 145 |
| Injuries | 475 |
| Dollar loss | $445,900,000 |
For the 2015–2024 period, USFA reports a 26% decrease in residential-building heating fires, a 27% decrease in deaths, and a 3% decrease in injuries. Inflation-adjusted dollar loss increased 8%, with each year’s loss expressed at its equivalent 2024 value. This is a different trend from the 2014–2023 comparison above, with a different starting year and adjustment year. Neither trend establishes why the measures changed. Source: USFA, Residential Building Heating Fire Trends (2015–2024)
A separate USFA report gives annual averages for 2017–2019: 34,200 residential-building heating fires reported to U.S. fire departments, 165 deaths, 600 injuries, and $367 million in property loss. These period averages are not single-year observations. They use the report’s residential-building heating-fire scope and remain distinct from the 2024 estimates. Source: USFA, Heating Fires in Residential Buildings (2017–2019)
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports separate annual averages for 2020–2022. Incidents involving portable heaters, including electric space heaters, averaged 1,600 fires, 70 deaths, and 150 injuries per year. Incidents involving fireplaces and chimneys averaged 15,400 fires, 30 deaths, and 90 injuries per year. Those equipment groupings have their own stated scope; they are not additional categories to sum into the USFA residential-building heating-fire totals. Source: CPSC, Keep Warm and Safe This Winter: Tips for Using Generators, Furnaces and Space Heaters
Home heating fire incidents statistics: portable-heater incidents and risks
For 2017–2019, USFA estimated an annual average of 1,100 residential-building fires involving portable heaters. Those fires caused annual averages of 65 deaths, 150 injuries, and $51 million in property loss. Portable heaters were involved in 3% of residential-building heating fires and 41% of fatal heating fires during the period. The denominators differ: one percentage refers to all heating fires, the other to fatal heating fires. Neither percentage is the likelihood of a particular heater starting a fire or causing a death. Source: USFA, Portable Heater Fires in Residential Buildings (2017–2019)
January was the peak month for portable-heater fires, accounting for 25%. Bedrooms were the most frequent area of origin, at 34%. The leading reported factor contributing to ignition was a heat source placed too close to combustible objects, recorded in 48% of fires. These are descriptions of fires in the 2017–2019 report; the contributing factor does not explain every incident. Source: USFA, Portable Heater Fires in Residential Buildings (2017–2019)
In occupied residential buildings, smoke alarms were present in 41% of portable-heater fires. Full or partial automatic extinguishing systems, including residential sprinklers, were present in 2%. Presence alone does not indicate whether a device activated or what effect it had in a particular fire. Source: USFA, Portable Heater Fires in Residential Buildings (2017–2019)
CPSC’s 2020–2022 average of 1,600 fires involving portable heaters, including electric space heaters, comes from a later period and a separate source and incident scope. It can be reported alongside the USFA findings as a distinct estimate, but the two figures do not by themselves establish a comparable trend. Source: CPSC, Keep Warm and Safe This Winter: Tips for Using Generators, Furnaces and Space Heaters
Home heating fire incidents: seasonal patterns and ignition factors
USFA’s analysis of residential-building heating fires in 2017–2019 identifies January as the peak month, at 20% of incidents. Fires peaked in the early evening, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., with the highest peak from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The 20% figure concerns heating fires overall; the portable-heater report’s January share is 25%, for a narrower equipment group. Source: USFA, Heating Fires in Residential Buildings (2017–2019)
Confined fires accounted for 77% of residential-building heating fires. In this report, confined fires include those limited to chimneys, flues, or fuel burners. Among nonconfined heating fires, a heat source too close to combustibles was reported in 27% of cases. That share applies to nonconfined fires, not the full group. It is also distinct from the 48% reported for portable-heater fires. Source: USFA, Heating Fires in Residential Buildings (2017–2019)
Smoke alarms were present in 56% of nonconfined heating fires in occupied residential buildings. This is a different population from the 41% presence figure for portable-heater fires in occupied residential buildings. Neither statistic states whether alarms operated during a fire. Source: USFA, Heating Fires in Residential Buildings (2017–2019)
Home heating fire incidents: equipment involved in one- and two-family home fires
NFPA Table 27 covers reported one- or two-family home structure fires by equipment involved in ignition, with estimated annual averages for 2019–2023. In that defined population, the heater category excluding catalytic and oil-filled heaters was involved in an annual average of 3,020 fires and 144 civilian deaths. Central furnaces or heating units were involved in 2,456 fires and 53 civilian injuries per year on average.
| Equipment involved in ignition | Fires, annual average | Civilian deaths, annual average | Civilian injuries, annual average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heater, excluding catalytic and oil-filled heaters | 3,020 | 144 | — |
| Furnace, central heating unit | 2,456 | — | 53 |
| Water heater | 2,454 | — | — |
| Fireplace, insert/stove | 2,204 | — | — |
The table also reports annual averages of 2,454 fires involving water heaters and 2,204 involving fireplaces, inserts, or stoves. A dash means that no value for that measure is reported here; it does not mean zero deaths or injuries. The equipment category indicates involvement in ignition under NFPA’s classification. Its one- or two-family structure-fire population and method differ from USFA’s residential-building heating-fire estimates, so the counts are not interchangeable. Source: NFPA, Home Structure Fires Supporting Tables (2019–2023), Table 27
Home heating fire incidents: furnaces, heaters, fireplaces, and chimneys
For 2019–2023, NFPA Table 27 lists an annual average of 2,176 one- or two-family home structure fires involving metal chimneys, including stovepipe and flue. The same category was involved in 17 civilian injuries per year on average. Brick, stone, or masonry chimneys were involved in 2,120 fires per year on average. These are equipment-involved-in-ignition figures within the table’s defined population, not counts of every chimney-related fire across all building types. Source: NFPA, Home Structure Fires Supporting Tables (2019–2023), Table 27
CPSC’s separate 2020–2022 averages for fireplaces and chimneys are 15,400 fires, 30 deaths, and 90 injuries per year. CPSC combines fireplaces and chimneys in this grouping, while NFPA lists individual equipment categories for one- or two-family home structure fires. The different grouping and scope should stay visible when reading these figures together. Source: CPSC, Keep Warm and Safe This Winter: Tips for Using Generators, Furnaces and Space Heaters
Sources
- Residential Building Heating Fire Trends (2014-2023)
- Residential Building Heating Fire Trends (2015-2024)
- Heating Fires in Residential Buildings (2017-2019)
- Portable Heater Fires in Residential Buildings (2017-2019)
- Keep Warm and Safe This Winter: Tips for Using Generators, Furnaces and Space Heaters
- Home Structure Fires Supporting Tables (2019-2023)