NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 50

Large-Loss Fires in
the United States in 2018 (continued)
Other Details
The loss was listed as $10 million
to the structure and $500,000 to
the contents.
Virginia
Month, Time of Alarm,
Dollar Loss
May, 12:46 p.m., $10,128,475
Property Characteristics and
Operating Status
This was a four-story,
93,750-square-foot
(8,710-square-meter), 82-unit
apartment building of protected
wood-frame construction.
Fire Protection Systems
There were smoke alarms in the
unit of origin and they sounded.
There was automatic suppression
equipment present. The type
of system in the building was
not reported, but the heads on
the balcony were dry pipe. The
system failed to operate on the
balcony and the reason is still
under investigation, but it did
activate within the structure.
Fire Development
The fire started on a third-floor
balcony in a flower pot when a
discarded cigarette ignited the
potting material. The fire spread
to a second third-floor balcony,
then up the siding to two balconies on the fourth floor, then up
to and into the attic.
Contributing Factors and
Other Details
Upon arrival, fire was visible on
the four balconies and spreading
up to the attic. Fire companies
entered the building and made
an attack in the third-floor apartment where the fire originated.
Firefighters encountered many
residents in their apartments or
on the floors and assisted them
in evacuating, rescuing five residents. Firefighters were ordered
out of the building and went to
a defensive attack after a partial
floor collapse occurred. The failure of sprinklers on the balconies
was a contributing factor in the
spread of this fire.
Illinois
Month, Time of Alarm,
Dollar Loss
July, 1:21 p.m., $10,000,000
Property Characteristics and
Operating Status
This was a three-story,
48,000-square-foot
(4,459-square-meter), 23-unit
apartment building.
Fire Protection Systems
There were smoke alarms in the
unit of origin; it was not known
if they sounded. There was no
automatic suppression equipment present.
Fire Development
The fire started when a lighter fell
onto a mattress. The fire spread
to the room's contents and
throughout the apartment.

Contributing Factors and
Other Details
The fire burned under the mansard roof throughout the building
and spread to and burned
throughout three additional
similarly constructed buildings.
Firefighters fought an interior
attack for almost an hour and
then withdrew to a defensive
attack. One firefighter and two
civilians were treated for injuries.
The loss was estimated at $4
million to the structure and $6
million to the contents. The fire
consumed four buildings with a
total of 92 units.
California
Month, Time of Alarm,
Dollar Loss
October, 5:13 p.m., $10,000,000
Property Characteristics and
Operating Status
This was a 25-story,
76,625-square-foot
(7,026-square-meter) apartment building of protected
noncombustible construction.
The number of units was not
reported.
Fire Protection Systems
There were smoke alarms present
and they operated and alerted
the occupants. There was no
automatic suppression equipment present.
Fire Development
This fire broke out in the living
room of an apartment on the
twelfth floor. A lit candle ignited
nearby window treatments. The
fire spread vertically from the
twelfth floor to the sixteenth floor
through voids.
Contributing Factors and
Other Details
The loss was listed as $8 million
to the structure and $2 million to
the contents.
WILDLAND/URBAN
INTERFACE
California
Date, Time of Alarm, Dollar Loss
November, 6:33 a.m.,
$8,473,363,059
Setting
This was a wildland/urban interface fire, known as the Camp
Fire, that occurred in Northern
California.
Climate
The fire occurred on a red flag
warning day, with winds measured at 25 to 35 mph (40 to 56
kph) and low humidity, which had
dropped from 23 percent to 10
percent. Fuels in this area had
been subjected to multiple years
of drought.
Fire Origin and Path
The fire reportedly began when
sparks from electric transmission
lines ignited dry vegetation. The
fire burned an area of 55,000
acres within the first 12 hours and

50 | NFPA JOURNAL * N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 9

October Fire Siege, a series of wildfires in California. Ignited on the same day as the Camp Fire, the
Woolsey Fire spread throughout Southern California, resulting in over $2.9 billion in losses.
According to "Fire Loss in the United States
During 2018" (September/October NFPA Journal,
nfpa.org/fireloss), US fire departments responded
to an estimated 1,318,500 fires that resulted in
estimated losses of $25.6 billion. Many of these
fires were small or resulted in little or no reported
property damage. Although the 36 large-loss fires
accounted for 0.003 percent of the estimated
number of fires in 2018, they accounted for 50.4
percent of the total estimated dollar loss. In
human terms, these 36 fires accounted for 102
deaths, 97 of which occurred in the wildland
incidents. There were also at least 66 injuries.
There were 14 more large-loss fires in 2018 than in
2017-eight structure fires and six non-structure
fires-with an increase of more than $340 million
in losses.
In the past 10 years, 26 fires have occurred that
each resulted in a loss of more than $100 million.
Of these largest-loss fire events, 16 were WUI fires,

A fire involving a large single-family home in
California resulted in more than $20 million in
losses. Two firefighters were injured in the blaze.
AP PHOTO/REED SAXON

http://www.nfpa.org/fireloss

NFPA Journal - November/December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - November/December 2019