House Fire Statistics

Key House Fire Statistics

• As of 2024, a home catches fire every 87 seconds. 
• On average, 273,000 electrical home fires break out in the EU member states every year. 
• UK Fire and Rescue services respond to nearly 35,000 house fire calls yearly.  
• 49% of house fires start in the kitchen. 
• House fires caused by smoking materials have the highest rate of fatalities. 
• A house fire can spread from its source to the surrounding area in just thirty seconds. 
• Occupants have approximately three minutes to leave their homes after the fire breaks out. 
• The average cost of restoring a home after a fire in the US is $12,900. 
• Response times to house fire calls vary by country and range from 5 to 11 minutes. 
• Data indicates that over 90% of house fires are preventable.

Understanding House Fires

Any fire that starts in a residential structure, regardless of its size, can be described as a house fire. They’re mostly accidental, as the flames spread much faster than homeowners anticipate, which is especially dangerous in built-up areas as it can damage and engulf neighbouring structures. The risk of house fires is magnified by the lack of access to fire extinguishers and other fire response gear.

The most common causes of house fires: 

In the UK, there are five classes of fires, but fire classifications vary between countries. The UK’s fire classes are: 

• Class A—Fires in this class are started by combustible solids like rubber, wood, plastic, or paper.
• Class B – Petrol, diesel, paint and other flammable liquids cause class B fires. 
• Class C –  These are caused by flammable gases like methane, propane and natural gas. 
• Class D – Class D fires are highly uncommon in residential settings because they’re caused by combustible metals like lithium or potassium. 
• Electrical Fires – TVs, refrigerators, computers, faulty wires and other electrical equipment cause these types of fires. This class doesn’t follow the same lettering, instead using the symbol of an electric spark.
• Class F – Kitchen fires are often referred to as Class F fires because they occur after a cooking liquid such as oil, grease or animal fat ignites. Besides homes, Class F fires are most common in restaurants.

How common are house fires?

A house fire takes place every 87 seconds in 2024. Firefighters in the UK attended over 200,000 dwelling fire calls in 2022, while their colleagues in the EU report over 2 million fire-related incidents every year.

Where do most house fires start?

Most house fires start in the kitchen (49%), followed by bedrooms (6%) and living rooms (3%). However, fire-related incidents in the bedroom cause the most fatalities.

How quickly do house fires spread?

Homes burn eight times faster in 2024 than fifty years ago. It takes approximately thirty seconds for a fire to get out of hand and spread to the entire room. Tests have shown that it takes only four minutes for a home with synthetic furniture to get entirely engulfed in flames.

Why do house fires happen at night?

Although residential structures can catch on fire at any time of the day, over 50% of house fires occur between 10 PM and 6 AM. Faulty electrical installations and heating appliances are the leading causes of house fires that happen at night. Old surge protectors, decorative lighting fittings and clothes dryers also frequently cause nighttime house fires.

What Causes House Fires?

• The majority of house fires reported globally are Class F. 
• Leaving the kitchen while cooking is the leading cause of house fires. 
• Over 90% of house fires are preventable. 
• 69% of house fires in the US between 2013 and 2017 occurred in one or two-family homes (duplexes or other multi-family housing).  
• The number of house fire injuries and fatalities in 2018 was 43% lower than in 1980 in the US. 
• House fires caused by careless smoking are the deadliest. 
• Most people die in house fires because they were asleep when the fire broke out.

UK House Fire Statistics

The number of house fires in the UK has decreased over the last four decades. In 2023, the UK had the lowest annual number of house fires reported since 1981. Despite encouraging statistics, hundreds of people die or are injured in house fires every year.

How many house fires occur per year in the UK?

Firefighters attended more than 720,000 fire incidents in 2023 across England (592,996), Scotland (99,532) and Wales (37,427).

What are the biggest causes of house fires in the UK?

Kitchen accidents cause the most house fires in the UK, while the misuse of equipment and leaving combustible materials too close to a heat source are also common reasons homes catch fire.

The main causes of dwelling fires in England in 2023:

How common are house fires in the UK?

Even though the annual number of house fires in the UK has steadily decreased over the last few decades, Fire and Rescue Services responded to 26,491 house fire calls in 2022/2023. These numbers indicate that a house fire breaks out in the UK every twenty minutes. 

What percentage of house fires are caused by rodents in the UK?

Between 20% and 40% of unexplained house fires in the UK are caused by rodents. Rats and mice chew through the home’s electrical installations, often causing short circuits that provide the spark that starts the fire. 

How many house fires are caused by candles in the UK?

Candles cause around 3% of all house fires in the UK every year, resulting in approximately 6% of all home fire injuries and 3% of dwelling fire fatalities. Forgetting to put out a candle before going to bed or leaving home is the most common reason house fires caused by candles break out.

US House Fire Statistics

• An average of 358,000 house fires occur in the US every year. 
• As of March 2024, 567 people had died in fire-related incidents in the US since the beginning of the year. 
• The majority of the fire fatalities (77.3%) in the US occur in residential properties.
• The national average of deaths in house fires was 6.5 per 1,000 fires,  while the average number of injuries in house fires is 20.9 per 1,000 fires. 
• Men die or get injured in house fires more frequently than women. In 2021, over 60% of all house fire victims were male. 
• Residential fires accounted for 25% of all fires reported in the US in 2022. 
• The annual number of house fires in the US has decreased from 1980 to 2022. 
• In 2020, the percentage of people falling asleep with a fire burning in the fireplace decreased by 64%.

Sources

Ready.gov, American Red Cross, PrepareCenter, NFPA, Fire & Rescue New South Wales, First Alert, US Fire Administration, FireTrace International, Firefighter Now, SafeWise, National Fire Protection Association, San Francisco Fire Department, Firefighter Insider, UK Government, Colorado River Fire & Rescue, Statista, The Zebra, This Old House, CBC, FEMA, FDNY Smart, Western Disaster Cleanup, ResearchGate, Worth Insurance, Connecticut State Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, National Safety Council, Reader’s Digest Canada, UK-Fire Risk Assessment, NIIDirect, NSC, Library of the European Parliament, International Association of Fire and Rescue Services, Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal, London Fire Brigade, European Fire Safety Alliance, Hippo, Electrical Safety First, Fire Safe Living, Fire Cash Buyers, 247 Home Rescue, Proelectrical, Electrical Safety Foundation, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue, Envista Forensics, Family Safety & Health Magazine, Gitnux, Safety Culture,  Griff Electric,  Industrial Safety & Hygiene News, FireTrace International, VHL Facilities, Electrical Direct, Servicemaster Restore, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, Forbes, Bankrate, Insurance Claim HQ, American Phychology Association, National Library of Medicine, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, FireCloud365, Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, Welsh Government, Scottish Government, Electrical Safety First, Fire & Electrical Safety, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, Humberside Fire & Rescue Service, The Hartford, FDNY Smart, Universety of Rochester Medical Center, FireServ, Fire Equipment Manufacturers’ Association, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Animal Emergency Care