At a Glance
From 2014 to 2016, an estimated
24,000
residential building electrical fires were reported to United States fire departments each year.
These fires caused an estimated:
310 deaths
850 injuries
$871 million in property loss
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%).
Residential building electrical fires occurred most often in the winter month of January (12%).
In only 17% 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%) and attics or vacant crawl spaces (13%).