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State Fire Death Risk

In 2020:

People living in 24 states and the District of Columbia had a higher risk of dying in a fire than the general population.

Mississippi and District of Columbia residents had the highest risk of dying in a fire.

People living in Maryland, Massachusetts and New Jersey had the lowest risk of dying in a fire.

Relative risk of dying in a fire by state (2020)

Sources: National Center for Health Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau

State of OccurrenceAlabamaAlaska**ArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdaho**IllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaine**MarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew Hampshire**New JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth Dakota**TennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming
Relative Risk2.11.90.81.60.60.90.7*2.50.61.2*0.71.01.31.10.91.71.81.00.50.51.41.02.51.71.71.31.00.60.51.10.81.1*1.01.81.11.3*1.21.21.70.70.6*1.01.12.31.2*

2020 fire deaths, fire death rates and relative risk by state

State of OccurrenceFire DeathsFire Death Rate (per million population)Relative Risk
Alabama12324.52.1
Alaska**1621.81.9
Arizona699.60.8
Arkansas5417.91.6
California2646.70.6
Colorado6110.50.9
Connecticut287.80.7
Delaware***
District of Columbia2029.02.5
Florida1577.30.6
Georgia14613.61.2
Hawaii***
Idaho**158.10.7
Illinois14711.51.0
Indiana10014.71.3
Iowa4012.51.1
Kansas3110.60.9
Kentucky9020.01.7
Louisiana9620.61.8
Maine**1611.71.0
Maryland365.80.5
Massachusetts446.30.5
Michigan16316.21.4
Minnesota6210.91.0
Mississippi8629.12.5
Missouri12219.81.7
Montana2119.31.7
Nebraska2914.81.3
Nevada3611.61.0
New Hampshire**107.30.6
New Jersey515.50.5
New Mexico2712.81.1
New York1829.00.8
North Carolina13112.51.1
North Dakota***
Ohio13311.31.0
Oklahoma8120.41.8
Oregon5312.51.1
Pennsylvania18814.51.3
Rhode Island***
South Carolina7314.21.2
South Dakota**1213.51.2
Tennessee13819.91.7
Texas2488.50.7
Utah216.40.6
Vermont***
Virginia9711.21.0
Washington9912.81.1
West Virginia4826.82.3
Wisconsin8314.11.2
Wyoming***
United States3,79011.41.0

Notes:

  1. Fire death rates are based on all deaths in which exposure to fire, fire products or explosion was the underlying cause of death or was a contributing factor in the chain of events leading to death. Specifically, ICD 10 Codes: F63.1, W39-W40, X00-X09, X75-X76, X96-X97, Y25-Y26 and Y35.1 were extracted for this analysis, resulting in a total of 3,790 fire deaths.
  2. The fire death rates presented here reflect the crude death rates and are not age adjusted. The crude death rate is the total number of fire deaths per state divided by the total population per state and multiplied by 1,000,000. These crude death rates should not be used for comparisons between states due to the significant impact of age in mortality data and different age distributions in different state populations.
  3. * Indicates fire death rates and relative risk were not computed due to very small numbers of fire deaths (fewer than 10 deaths).
  4. ** Fire death rates should be used with caution due to small numbers of deaths. Per the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), National Vital Statistics Reports, Volume 60, No. 4, “Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2010,” a rate or percentage is based on at least 20 deaths. Rates based on fewer than 20 deaths are considered highly variable.

Sources:

  • NCHS. 2020 Mortality Data File, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program.
  • U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. July 1, 2020 population estimates from the table Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, Regions, States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2021 (NST-EST2021-POP). Release date: December 2021.