National Estimates
The 2019 national estimates for the leading causes of nonresidential building fires show that there were:
- 33,200 cooking fires.
- 12,800 other unintentional, careless fires.
- 12,000 intentional fires.
Overall Trends
Overall trends in the leading fire causes for the 10-year period of 2010 to 2019 show the following:
- Cooking as the leading cause of nonresidential building fires for the 10-year period.
- A 39% increase in nonresidential cooking fires. This increase may be due to an NFIRS coding edit implemented in 2012.
- A 59% increase in nonresidential other unintentionally or carelessly set fires.
- A 31% increase in nonresidential intentionally set fires.
Leading Causes of Nonresidential Building Fires (2010‑2019)
2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cooking | 24200 | 24100 | 27200 | 27400 | 29000 | 30900 | 28900 | 33700 | 31700 | 33200 |
Other Unintentional, Careless | 8500 | 8400 | 9100 | 8600 | 10000 | 10900 | 10700 | 12300 | 11900 | 12800 |
Intentional | 8500 | 8900 | 9700 | 9100 | 8800 | 9800 | 9000 | 10900 | 10200 | 12000 |
Electrical Malfunction | 7900 | 7800 | 6400 | 7400 | 8000 | 8200 | 7100 | 8200 | 8100 | 8200 |
Heating | 6700 | 6200 | 7400 | 8400 | 9000 | 7900 | 7100 | 7600 | 7100 | 7400 |