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It’s hard to imagine a home without electricity in the United States, but using it can have dangerous consequences. This report addresses the characteristics of home electrical fires from 2014 to 2016.
Download the full 14 page report PDF 446 KBFrom 2014 to 2016, an estimated
24,000
residential building electrical fires were reported to United States fire departments each year.
Residential building electrical fires resulted in over twice the dollar loss per fire than residential building nonelectrical fires did.
Residential building electrical fires occurred most often in 1- and 2-family dwellings (83 percent).
Residential building electrical fires occurred most often in the winter month of January (12 percent).
In only 17 percent of residential building electrical fires, the fire spread was limited to the object where the fire started.
Residential building electrical fires most often started in bedrooms (15 percent) and attics or vacant crawl spaces (13 percent).
