Residential Building Electrical Malfunction Fire Trends (2010‑2019)

National Estimates

The 2019 national estimates for residential building electrical malfunction fires and losses show that there were:

• 24,200 fires.
• 225 deaths.
• 1,050 injuries.
• $1,208,300,000 in dollar loss.

Overall Trends

Overall trends for residential building electrical malfunction fires and losses for the 10-year period of 2010 to 2019 show the following:

• A 0.8% decrease in fires.
• A 15% decrease in deaths.
• A 20% decrease in injuries.
• A 9% increase in dollar loss. In 2018 and 2019, there were 32 and 14 incidents, respectively, with a reported dollar loss of $1,000,000 or more, which may have contributed to the continued increase in fire dollar loss. The 2019 high dollar loss fires included a $26,400,000 hotel fire in New Orleans, Louisiana. (This overall constant dollar-loss trend takes inflation into account by adjusting each year's dollar loss to its equivalent 2019 value.)