Quick Summary
USFA estimates 343,000 residential building fires in 2024. Read the deaths, injuries and loss figures with their year and scope, and distinguish national fire estimates from a repair quote.
Fire damage statistics describe the scale of reported fire losses. They do not predict whether a particular home is safe or how much its repairs will cost. The figures below use the U.S. Fire Administration’s 2024 national residential-building estimates, with the source and measurement stated beside the numbers.
2024 residential building fire estimates
| Measure |
USFA national estimate |
| Residential building fires |
343,000 |
| Deaths |
2,975 |
| Injuries |
9,225 |
| Dollar loss |
$11,561,100,000 |
Source: USFA residential building fire estimate summaries, 2015–2024. These are estimates for residential building fires, not all fires or all economic consequences of fire. Preserve that definition when quoting the figures.
How the 2024 numbers compare with 2023
| Measure |
2023 |
2024 |
| Fires |
344,600 |
343,000 |
| Deaths |
2,890 |
2,975 |
| Injuries |
10,400 |
9,225 |
The direction differs by measure: fewer estimated fires did not mean fewer deaths. A single number cannot summarize the whole fire problem. Comparisons should use the same series and methodology, and dollar trends need an explicit treatment of inflation.
Cooking fire statistics
USFA estimates 160,300 residential building cooking fires in 2024, with 120 deaths, 2,175 injuries and $481.2 million in loss. See the cooking-fire series. These figures describe a specific cause within residential fires. They should not be combined with the overall residential total as if they were an additional category.
The distinction matters when planning prevention: a common cause, the largest loss and the highest fatality burden may not be the same category. Use official prevention guidance for the activity and equipment in your home.
Why two fire reports may have different totals
Check what each source counts: residential buildings, all structures, home fires, vehicle fires or outdoor fires. Check whether the figure is an annual estimate, a raw incident count, a multi-year average or an insurance loss. Different populations and reporting methods can produce different valid numbers.
Do not splice one organization’s count into another organization’s loss calculation. Retain the original source, year, units and footnotes so a reader can reproduce the comparison.
National fire losses are not fire damage estimates for your home
Dividing the national loss total by the fire count does not produce a reliable restoration quote. An individual job depends on heat, smoke, soot, firefighting water, affected systems and reconstruction. Some costs or consequences may be outside a particular loss measure.
For an actual property, use the after-fire recovery guide and request a written cleanup and repair scope. Follow fire-department access instructions before collecting photographs or belongings.
How to cite these statistics
Name USFA, the data year, the residential-building scope and the specific measure. For example, describe 343,000 as an estimated number of residential building fires in 2024. Keep the source link with the number. A page updated in a later year does not turn a 2024 observation into a current-year count.
Sources and further reading