NFPA Journal - Summer 2023 - 71

SUMMARIES OF NFPA REPORTS
AND FIRE PROTECTION RESEARCH
FOUNDATION PROJECTS
Of the 24 large-loss fires in 2021, 20
NFPA.ORG/LARGELOSS
Read the complete 2021 large loss
report, including incident summaries.
destroyed 1,084 residential properties,
seven commercial properties, and
more than 200 additional properties.
Two people died in the fire. Hundreds
of firefighters from 70 fire agencies
responded to the fire, as did more than
300 law enforcement personnel who
assisted with evacuation.
In 2020, by comparison, large-loss
fires resulted in $8.1 billion in direct
property damage and losses. The higher
losses in 2020 were due to major wildland
fires that accounted for combined
losses of $4.2 billion and a ship fire
with another $3 billion loss.
involved structures that resulted in a
total property loss of $735.6 million. Of
the 20 structure fires, seven occurred in
manufacturing plants, including: four
involved with food processing, one chemical
manufacturer, one rubber products
manufacturer, and one facility with multiple
processes. Those seven fires resulted
in combined losses of $471.7 million, or
47.8 percent of the combined losses for all
large-loss fires. Five fires in storage properties
occurred in warehouses and had
a combined loss of $101.5 million. There
were four department store fires and
one office building fire with a combined
loss of $72 million. One fire occurred in
a structure under construction with a
loss of $35 million; one occurred in an
apartment building with a loss of $30.2
million; and one occurred in a restaurant
with a loss of $25.2 million. In 2021, there
were three fewer large-loss structure fires
than in 2020.
The remaining large-loss fires
included four nonstructural fires that
included two wildland/urban interface
fires, with a combined loss of $688.0
million, and two boat fires, with a
combined loss of $116.5 million. The
nonstructural fires had a combined loss
of $804.5 million, or 52.2 percent of
the total losses of all large-loss fires. In
2021, there were two fewer large-loss
nonstructural fires.
A cause was determined in seven of
the 24 large-loss fires. There were two
mechanical failures in fires resulting
in losses of $29.6 million. There was
one fire each due to cutting/welding
too close to combustibles, with a loss of
$15.5 million; an unknown part failure,
with a loss of $100 million; an electrical
short circuit, with a loss of $26 million;
and an electrical failure of unreported
type, with a loss of $10 million. One
incendiary fire resulted in a loss of
$14 million. For 17 fires, the cause of
the fire was undetermined, unknown,
or was not reported. In several cases,
the destruction was so extensive that
investigators could not determine a
definitive cause or could not rule out
several possibilities. Other fires are still
under investigation or their causes have
not yet been reported.
Information about automatic fire
or smoke detection equipment was
reported for 10 of the 22 large-loss
structure and vehicle fires. Of those
fires, seven properties had detection
equipment present; six of these seven
systems operated as designed, but no
reason was reported as to why the fires
became so large. In one case the
operation was unreported. Three
properties had no automatic detection
equipment installed. Twelve incidents
had no information on detection
equipment reported.
Information on automatic suppression
equipment was reported for 11
of the 22 structure and ship fires. Of
those, seven properties had suppression
systems and four had none. Six systems
operated, but no information was
reported as to why the fire was not controlled.
In one fire, the system did not
operate because it had been shut down
prior to the fire because severe winter
weather had damaged the system.
Complete information on the presence
of both detection and suppression
equipment was reported for eight of
the 24 structure and vehicle fires. Five
had both detection and suppression
equipment and three had neither
system installed.
With 24 incidents, 2021 is tied for
having the second-fewest large-loss fires
and explosions of any year over the last
10 years. Although these fires accounted
for 0.002 percent of the estimated
number of fires in 2021, they comprised
9.7 percent of the total estimated dollar
loss. These fires also accounted for two
civilian deaths and at least six injuries to
firefighters and civilians.
Seven of the fires broke out between
11 p.m. and 7 a.m. The operating status
was reported for 20 of the 24 fires, with
18 properties open or operating to some
extent or having workers on site. Two
were closed or unoccupied properties.
STEPHEN G. BADGER, a fire data analyst with
NFPA's Research Division, is retired from the fire
department in Quincy, Massachusetts.
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NFPA Journal - Summer 2023

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