State Fire Death Risk
The fire problem varies from region to region in the United States. This is often a result of weather, demographics and other causal factors. It includes the number of fire deaths and the fire death rate per capita for each state (and the District of Columbia), as well as the relative risk of dying in a fire based on where the fire death occurred. One of the most useful ways to compare fire fatalities across groups of people is to look at their relative risk of dying in a fire.
In 2023, the relative risk of dying in a fire was highest in Alaska, the District of Columbia and Hawaii. The populaces of Hawaii, the District of Columbia and Alaska were 6.0, 2.8 and 2.4 times more likely to die in a fire than the general population, respectively; however, people living in California, Colorado, Massachusetts and New Hampshire were 50% less likely to die in a fire than the population as a whole. The high fire death rate for Hawaii is attributed to 100 confirmed deaths resulting from the wildfires on the island of Maui. Where relative risk was computed, 25 states and the District of Columbia had a relative risk higher than that of the general population. Delaware and Washington had a relative risk comparable to that of the general population. In 21 states, the relative risk was lower than that of the general population.
In 2023:
People living in 25 states and the District of Columbia had a higher risk of dying in a fire than the general population.
People living in California, Colorado, Massachusetts and New Hampshire had the lowest risk of dying in a fire.
Fire deaths, rates and relative risk by state (2023)
| State of Occurrence | Fire Deaths | Fire Death Rate (per million population) | Relative Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 121 | 23.7 | 1.8 |
| Alaska | 23 | 31.4 | 2.4 |
| Arizona | 88 | 11.8 | 0.9 |
| Arkansas | 79 | 25.8 | 2.0 |
| California | 264 | 6.8 | 0.5 |
| Colorado | 41 | 7.0 | 0.5 |
| Connecticut | 28 | 7.7 | 0.6 |
| Delaware** | 13 | 12.6 | 1.0 |
| District of Columbia | 25 | 36.8 | 2.8 |
| Florida | 201 | 8.9 | 0.7 |
| Georgia | 172 | 15.6 | 1.2 |
| Hawaii | 112 | 78.0 | 6.0 |
| Idaho** | 17 | 8.7 | 0.7 |
| Illinois | 147 | 11.7 | 0.9 |
| Indiana | 105 | 15.3 | 1.2 |
| Iowa | 38 | 11.8 | 0.9 |
| Kansas | 64 | 21.8 | 1.7 |
| Kentucky | 99 | 21.9 | 1.7 |
| Louisiana | 89 | 19.5 | 1.5 |
| Maine | 22 | 15.8 | 1.2 |
| Maryland | 71 | 11.5 | 0.9 |
| Massachusetts | 49 | 7.0 | 0.5 |
| Michigan | 157 | 15.6 | 1.2 |
| Minnesota | 59 | 10.3 | 0.8 |
| Mississippi | 74 | 25.2 | 1.9 |
| Missouri | 121 | 19.5 | 1.5 |
| Montana** | 16 | 14.1 | 1.1 |
| Nebraska | 22 | 11.1 | 0.9 |
| Nevada | 34 | 10.6 | 0.8 |
| New Hampshire** | 10 | 7.1 | 0.5 |
| New Jersey | 68 | 7.3 | 0.6 |
| New Mexico | 37 | 17.5 | 1.3 |
| New York | 231 | 11.8 | 0.9 |
| North Carolina | 156 | 14.4 | 1.1 |
| North Dakota* | - | - | - |
| Ohio | 183 | 15.5 | 1.2 |
| Oklahoma | 113 | 27.9 | 2.1 |
| Oregon | 60 | 14.2 | 1.1 |
| Pennsylvania | 208 | 16.0 | 1.2 |
| Rhode Island** | 10 | 9.1 | 0.7 |
| South Carolina | 86 | 16.0 | 1.2 |
| South Dakota** | 16 | 17.4 | 1.3 |
| Tennessee | 176 | 24.7 | 1.9 |
| Texas | 327 | 10.7 | 0.8 |
| Utah | 26 | 7.6 | 0.6 |
| Vermont** | 10 | 15.4 | 1.2 |
| Virginia | 68 | 7.8 | 0.6 |
| Washington | 103 | 13.2 | 1.0 |
| West Virginia | 50 | 28.2 | 2.2 |
| Wisconsin | 68 | 11.5 | 0.9 |
| Wyoming* | - | - | - |
| United States | 4,371 | 13.1 | 1.0 |
Note: For Hawaii, the high fire death rate is attributed to 100 confirmed deaths resulting from the wildfires on the island of Maui in August 2023 (National Interagency Coordination Center Wildland Fire Summary and Statistics Annual Report 2023).
* States where fire death rates and relative risk were not computed due to very small numbers of fire deaths (fewer than 10 deaths).
** 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.
Notes:
- 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, International Classification of Disease 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 4,371 fire deaths.
- 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.
- For Hawaii, the high fire death rate is attributed to 100 confirmed deaths resulting from the wildfires on the island of Maui in August 2023 (National Interagency Coordination Center Wildland Fire Summary and Statistics Annual Report 2023).
Sources:
- NCHS. 2023 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, 2023, 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, 2023 (NST-EST2023-POP). Release date: December 2023.
Understanding this information
To account for population differences, per capita rates are used. Per capita rates use a common population size, which then permits comparisons between different groups. Per capita rates are determined by the number of deaths or injuries occurring to a specific population group divided by the total population for that group. This ratio is then multiplied by a common population size.
For the purposes of this analysis, per capita rates for fire deaths are measured per 1 million persons. For example, the 2023 per capita fire death rate for the total population is computed from the total number of fire deaths (4,371), divided by the total population (334,914,895), multiplied by 1,000,000 people. This rate is equivalent to 13.1 deaths per 1 million population.
Relative risk compares the per capita rate for a particular group (e.g., Pennsylvanians) to the overall per capita rate (i.e., the general population). The result is a measure of how likely a group is to be affected. For the general population of the U.S., the relative risk is set at 1.
Here are 2 examples that show how relative risk is used to compare fire fatalities:
- The relative risk of dying in a fire in Alabama in 2023 was 1.8. This means that Alabama residents were 1.8 times more likely to die in a fire than the overall U.S. population.
- The relative risk of dying in a fire in Utah in 2023 was 0.6. This means that Utah residents were 40% less likely to die in a fire than the overall U.S. population.