NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 71

involving property of value (6.6 percent); and 104,000 (7.7
percent of total fires) other non-structure, non-vehicle fires.
From 2015 to 2016, outside or other fires increased 3.6 percent. Outside and other fires peaked in 1977 at 1,658,500. The
number of such fires then decreased steadily, to 1,011,000 in
1983, and remained relatively flat through the 1980s. By 1993,
the number of outside fires dropped to 910,500 and remained
near the 1 million level for the next three years. In 2013, outside and other fires dropped to a record low of 564,500, the
only year these fires have dropped below 600,000.
From 2015 to 2016, brush, grass, or forest fires increased
0.5 percent; outside rubbish fires increased 5.5 percent; fires
involving property of value increased by 15.8 percent; and
other non-structure, non-vehicle fires increased .5 percent.
In addition to residential, nonresidential, and outside
fires, there were an estimated 173,000 highway vehicle fires
in 2016, a decrease of 0.6 percent from the year before, and
31,000 other vehicle fires, an increase of 1.6 percent.

CIVILIAN FIRE DEATHS
The 1,342,000 fires reported by fire departments in 2016
resulted in an estimated 3,390 civilian deaths, an increase of

Firefighters battle a
blaze at a commercial
storage yard in Utah.
In 2016, 88,000
outside fires involving
property of value
occurred nationwide.
(Ravell Call/The
Deseret News via AP)

From 2015 to 2016,
fires involving
property of value
increased by

15.8
percent

3.4 percent over the 2015 civilian death toll and the highest
number of deaths since 2007, when 3,430 civilians died in
fires. We can better understand the nature of this increase by
examining the types of properties where the deaths occurred.
The 352,000 home structure fires (which includes one- and
two-family homes and apartments) caused 2,735 civilian
deaths, an increase of 6.8 percent from 2015. This includes
2,410 deaths (71 percent of the total number of civilian
deaths) in one- and two-family homes and 325 in apartments
or other multi-family housing, including condominiums.
Deaths in one-or two-family homes increased by 11.8 percent,
while apartment deaths actually decreased by 19.8 percent
from 2015. Eighty-one percent of civilian fire deaths resulted
from home fires.
Home fire deaths were at their peak in 1978, when 6,015
people died in such fires. The number has trended downwards until recent years, with fewer than 5,000 annual
deaths since 1982, and less than 4,000 deaths since 1991,
with the exception of 1996. Since 2006, home fire deaths
have remained below 3,000 per year.
Overall, home fire deaths over the period 1977 to 2016
declined from 5,865 to 2,735, a drop of 53.4 percent. The
number of home fires also dropped steadily
over the same period for an overall decrease of
51.3 percent. However, the death rate per 1,000
home fires fluctuated considerably during that
period, from 8.1 in 1977 to a high of 9.7 in 1996
and a low of 6.5 in 2006. The death rate per
1,000 home fires was 7.8 in 2016, for an overall
decrease during that period of 4.9 percent. This
suggests that, while the number of reported
home fires and home fire deaths both declined
during the period, the fire death rate risk has
remained relatively unchanged. That is, given a
fire serious enough to report to the fire department, the risk of dying in that fire has not
decreased significantly over the past 40 years.
In 2016, there were also 65 civilian fire deaths
in other residential occupancies, such as hotels,
motels, dormitories, and boarding houses, for
an increase of 44.4 percent compared to 2015.
In addition, 150 civilians died in nonresidential
structure fires, an increase of 87.5 percent from
the year before. This increase is due in large
part to a fire in a warehouse in Oakland, California, known as the Ghost Ship, where 36 civilians
died. Although classified as a warehouse, this
property was being used as a dwelling that
defies easy occupancy classification.
Of the 2,950 civilian deaths in structure fires,
310 (10.5 percent) died in fires that were intentionally set.
With 2,735 home fire deaths accounting for
80.7 percent of all civilian fire deaths, fire-safety
initiatives targeted at the home remain the key
to any reductions in the overall fire death toll.
There are five major strategies for reducing the
death toll in home fires. First, more widespread
public fire safety education is needed on how
to prevent fires and how to avoid serious injury
N F PA . O R G / J O U R N A L * NFPA JOURNAL

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - September/October 2017