U.S. Fire Administration

TOPICAL FIRE RESEARCH SERIES

Volume 2, Issue 10

November 2001 (Rev. March 2002) 

Agricultural Fires

FINDINGS

S An estimated 20,000 agricultural fires each year result in $102 million

in direct property loss.

S Nearly two-thirds of all agricultural fires occur in orchards or crops.

S Agricultural fires peak in the early spring and again in the summer.

S Equipment fires usually involve cars, trucks, or tractors.

S The leading cause of agricultural fires is open flame (candles,

matches, bondfires, welding equipment).

Sources: NFPA and NFIRS

Between 1996 and 1998, there were an estimated 20,000 fires each year on U.S.

agricultural properties. These fires include those in and around facilities that produce raw

agricultural products or on farms. Agricultural fires are responsible for nearly 50 civilian

injuries, 25 fatalities, and $102 million in property loss each year.

1
LOSS MEASURES

Although agricultural fires are less deadly and injurious than other fires, they tend to

cause slightly more damage per fire (Figure 1). This may be due to the commercial value

of the crops destroyed added to the cost of the structural damage to facilities on the property.

Source: NFIRS only

Figure 1. Loss Measures for Agricultural Fires

(3-year average, NFIRS data 1996–98)

LOSS MEASURE ALL FIRES AGRICULTURAL FIRES

Dollar Loss/Fire

Civilian Injuries/1,000 Fires

Civilian Fatalities/1,000 Fires

$5,619

15.7

2.4

$6,125

3.1

1.0

WHERE FIRES OCCUR

Sixty-four percent of reported agricultural fires occur in orchards. The other third

occurs in cattle, other livestock, and poultry production facilities (Figure 2). Fifty-five

percent of agricultural fires are brush/grass fires, which is not surprising given that crop

fires predominate (Figure 2). Of the remainder, 14% involve vehicles on agricultural

properties and 13% involve structures.

Crops/Orchards

Cow/Cattle Production

Other Livestock Production

Poultry, Egg Production

64

22

6

3

Brush/Grass

Vehicle

Structure

Outside

Refuse

Figure 2. Agricultural Fires: Locations and Type

(3-year average, NFIRS data 1996–98, adjusted percentage)

LOCATION

PERCENT

OF FIRES

PERCENT

OF FIRES

55

14

13

10

7

TYPE OF FIRE

Source: NFIRS only
WHEN FIRES OCCUR

Agricultural fires increase during the early spring and again in the summer (Figure

3). Peak months are April, July, and August, possibly due to seasonal differences in the

harvesting and processing of crops. The pattern for structural fires is slightly different;

here, the peak months are April, March, and July.

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

1/1

1/151/292/122/263/123/26

4/9

4/23

5/7

5/21

6/4

6/18

7/2

716

7/308/138/279/109/2410/8

10/22

11/5

11/19

12/3

12/1712/31

Percent of Fires

Figure 3. Incidence of Agricultural Fires

(3-year average, NFIRS data 1996–98)

Source: NFIRS only
CAUSES

As shown in Figure 4, the leading causes of agricultural fires are open flame, which

includes candles, matches, bonfires, and welding equipment; incendiary/suspicious

(arson); and natural sources, which include spontaneous combustion and lightning. The

prominence of open flame and arson fires is consistent with the pattern seen in outdoor

fires generally.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Open Flame

Incendiary/Suspicious

Natural

Other Heat

Other Equipment

Electrical Distribution

Exposure

Smoking

Children Playing

Heating

Appliances

Cooking

All Agricultural Fires

Agricultural Structure Fires Only

Figure 4. Causes of Agricultural Fires

(3-year average, NFIRS data 1996–98)

Adjusted

Source Percent : NFIRS only

For agricultural structure fires, however, the leading causes are open flame, electrical distribution, and natural sources. Heating and electrical distribution account for a higher

proportion of structure fires, while natural and other heat sources are less significant.

Interestingly, arson plays a less prominent role in agricultural fires specifically and rural

fires generally than is the case elsewhere. The reasons for this are not clear.
When a piece of equipment is involved in the fire’s ignition, the leading equipment

involved is a vehicle of some kind—car, truck, tractor (Figure 5). Other equipment

involved in agricultural fires are processing equipment, fixed wiring, and torches. Equipment is involved in nearly one-third of agricultural fires (45% of structure fires and 31%

of non-structure fires).

Figure 5. Leading Equipment

Involved in Ignition

(3-year average, NFIRS data

1996–98, adjusted percentage)

EQUIPMENT PERCENT

INVOLVED OF FIRES

Vehicle

Electrical Distribution

Processing

Maintenance/Service

Heating System

Source: NFIRS only

CASUALTIES

12

6

5

5

2

Injuries on farms are common, particularly among children. In 1998, approximately

780 deaths and 140,000 injuries occurred on farms, making agriculture one of the most

dangerous industries in the United States.

2 Moreover, according to one estimate, children

under 20 experience nearly 33,000 agriculture-related injuries and approximately 100

fatalities each year.

3 Fire is responsible for only a small percentage of these casualties.

DEVELOPING TREND

During the time period addressed by the data set used for this report, tobacco curing

shed fires accounted for only about 1% of fires on agricultural properties. Beginning in

2000, some tobacco farmers have installed, at the request of the tobacco companies, heat

exchangers in their barns. Heat exchangers serve to reduce the level of a carcinogen

found in tobacco. Without proper shielding, however, heat exchangers can ignite the surrounding structural framing. Over the past 2 years, heat exchangers have been responsible for 30 fires in North Carolina, 15 in Georgia, 9 in South Carolina, and 2 in Virginia.4

EXAMPLE

S In February 1999, a farmer who had spilled gasoline or diesel fuel on his clothes

was killed in a granary fire. He was apparently trying to burn a tree stump when the

fire ignited and spread to the surrounding building.5
CONCLUSION

Like most fires, those that occur on agricultural properties are likely preventable

with proper use of open flame and industrial equipment. For further information about

fire prevention on farms, see the National Ag Safety Database (http://www.cdc.gov/

niosh/nasd/nasdhome.html), or contact your local fire department, or the USFA.

NOTES:

1. National estimates are based on data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS)

(1996–1998) and the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA’s) annual survey, Fire Loss in the

United States.

2. McCurdy, S. A. and Carroll, D. J., “Agricultural Injury,” American Journal of Industrial Medicine,

October 2000, 38(4): 463–480.

3. Fact Sheet—Agricultural Safety and Children, National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural

Health and Safety, January 2001.

4. “Safer Cigarette May Be Behind Barn Fires,” Associated Press, August 14, 2001.

5. “Wagner Man Dies After Granary Fire,” Associated Press, February 9, 1999.

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