🧯 The number of deadly fires in the U.S. has decreased by two-thirds

• The number of fire-related deaths per capita has decreased by approximately two-thirds since 1980 – from about 28.6 deaths per million inhabitants to around 11 per million in 2023.
• The total number of reported fires has been halved during the same period, and the number of injured has decreased by more than half.
• Mortality per reported fire in homes is approximately 60 percent lower in homes with working smoke detectors compared to homes without.

From two fires per hour to fewer fire casualties

During the 1970s, the Bronx neighborhood in New York experienced an average of two fires per hour. Over time, 80 percent of the neighborhood's housing was destroyed. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed 8.5 square kilometers of the city and left 100,000 people homeless, writes Vox.

Since 1980, the number of fire-related deaths per capita in the USA has decreased from 28.6 to 11 per million inhabitants in 2023. The total number of reported fires has simultaneously been halved. The number of injured has decreased by more than half.

Smoke detectors now exist in most homes

In 1977, less than a quarter of all households in the USA had smoke detectors. Today they exist in a large majority of homes. When smoke detectors work, the mortality per reported fire is approximately 60 percent lower than in homes without a working detector.

Modern building codes now usually require interconnected systems and detectors in bedrooms. A large proportion of fatal fires still occur in homes without a detector or where the detector did not work. Battery-powered smoke detectors are safer than hardwired ones.

Automatic sprinklers reduce mortality by 90 percent

Mortality per fire is approximately 90 percent lower when sprinklers are installed compared to when no automatic extinguishing system exists. Most new multi-family houses and apartment buildings must have sprinklers according to building codes. They have also become more common in other new construction.

Safer furniture and fewer smokers

The USA introduced a national standard for fire resistance in upholstered furniture in 2021. Furniture that is less easily ignited by a cigarette or similar ember means that fewer small room fires develop into larger fires.

In 1980, cigarette-related fires caused an estimated 70,800 home fires and led to 1,820 deaths. Smoking has decreased significantly in the USA. All states now require so-called fire-safe cigarettes that are less likely to ignite. By 2016, the number of smoking-related fires had decreased to 16,500 with 660 deaths, despite the fact that both the population and the number of buildings had increased.

Safer electricity and heating

Modern building codes require protection such as arc-fault circuit interrupters that cut power when wires start arcing behind walls. Heating equipment is still an important cause of fires. But heating-related fires decreased by one-third between 2010 and 2019. This is partly due to improvements in appliances such as automatic space heater shutoffs and temperature controls.

Building codes and product requirements have saved lives

Each safety improvement has required regulatory authorities to introduce new building codes and new product safety requirements. Regulatory authorities have often learned from previous fire disasters. Public information campaigns urged people to get smoke detectors and warned against risky behaviors such as smoking in bed.

Most fire-related deaths in the USA occur in homes. Homes account for a clear majority of fire-related deaths among civilians. The risks concentrate among older adults, people with disabilities, and low-income households living in older buildings. There, missing detectors, improper use of space heaters, or unsafe extension cords are more common.

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