Residential Building Other Unintentional, Careless Fire Trends (2012‑2021)

Overall trends

Overall trends for residential building other unintentional, careless fires and losses for the 10-year period of 2012 to 2021 show the following:

• A 44% increase in fires.
• A 54% increase in deaths.
  In 2018, there were 16 reported multifatality fire incidents, 18 in 2019, 9 in 2020 and 15 in 2021. These multifatality fire incidents may have contributed to the increase in the estimates of fire deaths.
• A 77% increase in injuries.
  In 2020 and 2021, 64 and 68 reported multiple injury fire incidents, respectively, may have contributed to the increase in the estimates of fire injuries. The 2020 multiple injury fire incidents included a high-rise apartment building fire in Bronx, New York, with 29 injuries.
• A 58% increase in dollar loss.^*
  In 2018, there were 33 incidents with a reported dollar loss of $1,000,000 or more, 30 in 2019, 24 in 2020 and 42 in 2021. These incidents may have contributed to the continued increase in fire dollar loss. The 2021 high-dollar loss fires included a $20,000,000 large residential fire in Palo Alto, California.