by Molly Miracle
Here are some facts and statistics about fire safety in the United States over the past few decades. Sprinkler initiatives, new building codes, and other advances in infrastructure have caused a general downward trend in property damage and fatalities from structural fires. BCER’s Life Safety team works tirelessly to find solutions to complex and unique building projects ensuring the safety of all tenants.
- 1,345,500 total fires were reported during 2015 in the United States
Fires Per Property Type in the USA
- 30.8% Residential
- 8.4% Non-Residential
- 13.9% Vehicle
- 41.11% Outside
- 5.88% Other
Sprinklers
Sprinklers decrease the fire death rate per 1,000 reported home fires by about 80%.
- Sprinklers decrease the average home fire damage from $45,019 to $2,166.
- States requiring fire sprinklers in new one and two family homes: CA, MD, Washington D.C.
- States prohibiting statewide and new, local adoptions of fire sprinkler requirements: AK, AL, AZ, CT, DE, GA, HI, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, NH, NJ, NY, NC, ND, OH, PA, SC, SD, TX, UT, VA, WV, WI
- States allowing local adoptions of sprinkler requirements for new homes: AR, CO, FL, IL, IA, ME, MT, NE, NV, NM, OK, OR, RI, TN, VT, WA, WY