Nonresidential Building Fire Dollar-Loss Causes (2015-2024)

Overall trends

Overall trends in the leading causes of fire dollar loss^* for the 10-year period of 2015 to 2024 show the following:

• 13% increase in nonresidential electrical malfunction fire dollar loss.

  • A $173,000,000 pier fire in California contributed to the 2024 dollar-loss peak.
• 19% increase in nonresidential other unintentionally or carelessly set fire dollar loss

  • Other unintentional, careless fires as the leading cause of nonresidential building fire dollar loss in 8 years out of the 10-year period.
  • A $38,000,000 Illinois warehouse fire and an $81,000,000 Wisconsin manufacturing fire contributed to the 2022 and 2023 dollar-loss peaks, respectively.
• 37% increase in nonresidential cause-under-investigation fire dollar loss.

  • A $136,900,000 fire in a Washington state cold-storage facility contributed to the 2024 dollar-loss peak.
• 15% increase in nonresidential other heat fire dollar loss.
• 15% increase in nonresidential other equipment fire dollar loss.

  • $170,000,000 fire in a California manufacturing property contributed to the 2021 dollar-loss peak.
• 22% increase in nonresidential intentional fire dollar loss.

  • A $26,465,000 California building supply warehouse fire with several exposures and a $17,000,000 Pennsylvania mercantile or business property fire contributed to the increase in nonresidential intentional fire dollar loss in 2020.
• 4% decrease in nonresidential equipment malfunction fire dollar loss.

  • A $25,000,000 Arkansas manufacturing fire contributed to the 2022 dollar-loss peak.
  • A $67,800,000 New Jersey manufacturing fire contributed to the 2021 nonresidential exposure fire dollar-loss peak.