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Topical Fire Report Series January 2018 | Volume 18, Issue 9

Vacant Residential Building Fires 

(2013-2015)

These topical reports are 

designed to explore facets 

of the U.S. fire problem as 

depicted through data 

collected in the U.S. Fire 

Administration’s National 

Fire Incident Reporting 

System. Each topical 

report briefly addresses the 

nature of the specific fire or 

fire-related topic, highlights 

important findings from 

the data, and may suggest 

other resources to consider 

for further information. 

Also included are recent 

examples of fire incidents 

that demonstrate some 

of the issues addressed in 

the report or that put the 

report topic in context.

Findings

ĵ Each year, from 2013 to 2015, an estimated 23,800 vacant residential building 

fires were reported to fire departments within the United States and caused an 

estimated 75 deaths, 200 injuries and $785 million in property loss.

ĵ Vacant residential building fires are considered part of the residential fire problem 

and accounted for 6 percent of all residential building fires.

ĵ Nonconfined fires accounted for 99 percent of vacant residential building fires.

ĵ At 34 percent, intentional actions were the leading cause of vacant residential 

building fires.

ĵ Of vacant residential building fires, 53 percent spread to involve the entire building. 

An additional 10 percent extended beyond the building to adjacent properties.

ĵ At 12 percent, bedrooms were the leading area of fire origin in vacant residential 

building fires. Following closely were common rooms, such as dens, family rooms 

and living rooms (11 percent), and cooking areas/kitchens (8 percent).

From 2013 to 2015, an estimated 23,800 vacant residential building fires were reported annually in the U.S.1,2 Vacant 

residential building fires are considered part of the residential fire problem, accounting for 6 percent of all residential 

building fires, resulting in an estimated 75 deaths, 200 injuries and $785 million in property loss each year.3

A large number of vacant residential buildings can present various problems. These buildings are rarely maintained 

and often serve as a common site for illicit or illegal activity. In addition, vacant residential buildings are sometimes 

used by homeless people as temporary shelters or housing. A major concern when a vacant building catches on 

fire is that little is known about the building’s overall condition. Many buildings are in disrepair and can be missing 

certain structures, such as staircases or portions of floors. If individuals are known to use the vacant building as 

a residence, the unknown condition of the building and the unknown number of people using the building as a 

shelter can put the firefighters’ lives in danger when they enter the building to attempt a rescue during a fire.

The surrounding nonvacant properties are also at risk when vacant residential buildings catch fire. It typically 

takes longer for vacant residential building fires to be detected, as there are no occupants to be alerted by the 

smell or sound of the fires or to respond to an alarm. Thus, the property loss is greater. In addition, if the fire 

has been intentionally set, especially with multiple ignition points, the damage can be greater, placing the lives 

of more individuals — firefighters, adjacent residents, and any squatters — in danger.

Fires in vacant residential buildings have become an even greater issue over the past decade. During the Great 

Recession of 2007 to 2009, many communities saw an increase in the number of vacant residential buildings, and with 

that they saw an increase in the number of vacant residential building fires.4 From 2013 to 2015, the leading cause 

of all vacant residential building fires was intentional actions (34 percent, as discussed later in this report), posing 

serious issues for many communities. These types of fires continue to be a problem and concern within our society.
TFRS Volume 18, Issue 9 | Vacant Residential Building Fires (2013-2015)

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This topical report addresses the characteristics of vacant residential building fires as reported to the National Fire 

Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) from 2013 to 2015, the most recent data available at the time of the analysis.5 The 

NFIRS data is used for the analyses throughout this report. Vacant residential building fires, as analyzed in this report, 

include properties where the building is under construction, under major renovation, being demolished, is vacant 

and secured, or is vacant and unsecured. The remaining building status categories (occupied and operating; idle, not 

routinely used; building status, other; and undetermined) are considered “nonvacant,” but not necessarily occupied.

For the purpose of this report, the terms “residential fires” and “vacant residential fires” are synonymous with 

“residential building fires” and “vacant residential building fires,” respectively. The term “vacant residential fires” is 

used throughout the body of this report; the findings, tables, charts, headings and endnotes reflect the full category 

“vacant residential building fires.”

Fire and fire loss estimates

The data shows that an estimated 23,800 vacant residential fires occurred annually between 2013 and 2015, resulting 

in an estimated total of 75 deaths, 200 injuries and $785 million in property loss each year (Table 1). Of the vacant 

residential fires, 46 percent of the buildings were reported as vacant and unsecured, and another 36 percent were 

reported as vacant and secured.

Table 1. Vacant residential building fire loss estimates by building status (three-year average, 2013-2015)

Building status Fires Deaths Injuries Total dollar loss

Under construction 1,800 0 25 $159,500,000

Under major renovation 1,600 10 50 $85,100,000

Vacant and secured 8,500 25 50 $314,500,000

Vacant and unsecured 11,000 35 75 $208,100,000

Being demolished 900 5 0 $17,600,000

Total 23,800 75 200 $784,800,000

Source: NFIRS 5.0., National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

Note:	 Fires are rounded to the nearest 100, deaths to the nearest five, injuries to the nearest 25, and dollar loss to the nearest $100,000. Dollar loss was adjusted to

2015 dollars.

Type of fire

Building fires are divided into two classes of severity in the NFIRS, as follows: “confined fires,” which are fires confined 

to certain types of equipment or objects, and “nonconfined fires,” which are fires that are not confined to certain 

types of equipment or objects. Confined building fires are small fire incidents that are limited in extent, staying within 

pots, fireplaces or certain other noncombustible containers.6

 Confined fires rarely result in serious injury or large 

content loss and are expected to have no significant accompanying property loss due to flame damage, whereas 

nonconfined fires generally have more substantial losses, some of which may be significant.7

Of the two classes of severity, nonconfined fires accounted for nearly all vacant residential fires (Table 2). Because 

there were so few confined vacant residential fires (1 percent), the subsequent analyses in this report include all 

vacant residential fires and do not distinguish between confined and nonconfined fires.
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Table 2. Vacant residential building fires by type of incident (2013-2015)

Incident type Percent

Nonconfined fires 99.2

Building fires 93.7

Fires in mobile homes and other mobile/portable buildings 5.5

Confined fires 0.8

Total 100.0

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Loss measures

Table 3 presents losses, averaged over the three-year period from 2013 to 2015, of reported vacant residential fires 

and nonvacant residential fires.8 Fires in vacant residential buildings had lower casualty (fatality and injury) rates 

than fires in nonvacant residential buildings, but higher property loss rates.

Table 3. Loss measures for vacant and nonvacant residential building fires (three-year average, 2013-2015)

Measure Vacant residential 

building fires

Nonvacant residential 

building fires

Average loss

Fatalities/1,000 fires 2.4 5.7

Injuries/1,000 fires 7.1 27.5

Dollar loss/fire $30,150 $15,940

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Note:	 Average loss for fatalities and injuries is computed per 1,000 fires; average dollar loss is computed per fire and is rounded to the nearest $10. Dollar loss was

adjusted to 2015 dollars.

When vacant residential building fires occur

As shown in Figure 1, vacant residential fires occurred most frequently in the late night to early morning hours, 

peaking from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. They gradually declined throughout the early morning, reaching the lowest point 

during the midmorning hours (8 a.m. to 10 a.m.). The fire incidence then began to rise steadily from 10 a.m. through 

the evening hours before reaching the peak period (10 p.m. to 3 a.m.), which accounted for 26 percent of vacant 

residential fires.9
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Figure 1. Vacant residential building fires by time of alarm (2013-2015)

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

11 p.m. - Mid

10 - 11 p.m.

9 - 10 p.m.

1 - 2 p.m.2 - 3 p.m.3 - 4 p.m.4 - 5 p.m.5 - 6 p.m.6 - 7 p.m.7 - 8 p.m.8 - 9 p.m.

12 - 1 p.m.

11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

10 - 11 a.m.

9 - 10 a.m.

1 - 2 a.m.2 - 3 a.m.3 - 4 a.m.4 - 5 a.m.5 - 6 a.m.6 - 7 a.m.7 - 8 a.m.8 - 9 a.m.

Mid - 1 a.m.

5.3 5.3 5.0

3.1 2.9 2.9 3.0 3.3 3.3

3.7 3.8 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.5 4.8 4.7 4.8

5.3 5.1 4.8

4.4

4.0

3.4

Percent of vacant residential 

building fires

Time of alarm

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Figure 2 illustrates that vacant residential fires peaked in July at 9 percent. Fire incidence in vacant residences was 

lowest in December at 7 percent.

Figure 2. Vacant residential building fires by month (2013-2015)

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

November

December

October

September

August

July

April

May

June

March

February

January

8.9

7.6

8.9

8.3

9.3

8.6

7.8 8.0 8.0

7.3

8.7 8.7

Percent of vacant residential 

building fires

Month of year

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Note:	 Total does not add up to 100 percent due to rounding.
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Causes of vacant residential building fires

The leading cause of vacant residential fires was intentional actions at 34 percent (Figure 3).10 The next three leading 

causes combined accounted for one third of vacant residential fires: open flame (13 percent); other unintentional, 

careless actions (12 percent); and electrical malfunction (8 percent).11

Figure 3. Vacant residential building fires by cause (2013-2015)

Percent of vacant residential building fires 

Causes

0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 35.0 40.0 45.0 50.0 55.0

Unknown

Cause under investigation

Other unintentional, careless

Equipment misoperation, failure

Exposure

Natural

Other equipment

Other heat

Open flame

Appliances

Electrical malfunction

Cooking

Heating

Smoking

Playing with heat source

Intentional

Percent of vacant residential building

fires with cause determined

Percent of all vacant residential 

building fires

1.1

4.2

7.6

1.3

2.4

13.2

7.3

3.9

7.0

1.2

0.7

3.7

2.1

2.9

5.2

0.5

0.9

12.1

6.7

3.4

6.1

44.3

2.0

1.6

2.9

1.0

1.8

0.3

0.5

18.7

33.5

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Notes:	 1.	Causes are listed in order of the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) Structure Fire Cause Hierarchy for ease of comparison of fire causes across different aspects

of the fire problem. Fires are assigned to one of 16 cause groupings using a hierarchy of definitions, as shown in the chart above. A fire is included in the

highest category into which it fits. If it does not fit the top category, then the second one is considered, and if not that one, the third, and so on. For example,

if the fire is judged to be intentionally set and a match was used to ignite it, it is classified as intentional and not open flame because intentional is higher in

the hierarchy.

	 2.	Due to rounding, the total does not add up to 100 percent for vacant residential building fires with cause determined.

Fire spread in vacant residential building fires

Of the fires that occurred in vacant residences, 10 percent extended beyond the building to adjacent properties. 

While 90 percent of vacant residential fires never spread beyond the building of fire origin (Figure 4), 53 percent of 

the fires involved the entire building. The spread of fires in vacant residential buildings was different than the fire 

spread of nonvacant residential fires, where most fires were limited to the object of origin (59 percent) and only 15 

percent involved the entire building.
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Figure 4. Extent of fire spread in vacant residential building fires (2013-2015) Fire spread

Percent of vacant residential building fires

0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0

Beyond building of origin

Limited to building of origin

Limited to floor of origin

Limited to room of origin

Limited to object of origin 8.6

8.6

53.3

10.3

19.2

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Where vacant residential building fires start (area of fire origin)

At 12 percent, bedrooms were the leading area where vacant residential fires started (Table 4). Fires that began in 

family rooms or living rooms (11 percent) and cooking areas/kitchens (8 percent) were the next leading areas of fire 

origin. Less common were fires that started in attics (6 percent), on exterior wall surfaces (5 percent), and in other 

function areas (5 percent).

Table 4. Leading areas of fire origin in vacant residential building fires (2013-2015)

Areas of fire origin Percent

(unknowns apportioned)

Bedrooms 11.6

Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge 10.8

Cooking area, kitchen 8.2

Attic: vacant, crawl space 5.6

Wall surface, exterior 5.4

Other function areas 5.3

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

How vacant residential building fires start (heat source)

Figure 5 shows sources of heat categories in vacant residential fires. The “heat from open flame or smoking materials” 

category accounted for 26 percent of all vacant residential fires. Within this category, heat from other open flames 

or smoking materials accounted for 12 percent, cigarette or cigar lighters accounted for 4 percent, and matches 

accounted for 3 percent of all vacant residential fires.

The “heat from powered equipment” category accounted for 23 percent of vacant residential fires. This category 

includes electrical arcing (10 percent); heat from other powered equipment (5 percent); radiated or conducted heat 

from operating equipment (5 percent); and sparks, embers or flames from operating equipment (3 percent). The 

third largest category pertains to “hot or smoldering objects” (21 percent). This category includes items such as hot 

embers or ashes (10 percent) and miscellaneous hot or smoldering objects (9 percent).
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Figure 5. Sources of heat in vacant residential building fires by major category (2013-2015)

Percent of vacant residential building fires

0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0

Undetermined

Explosive, fireworks

Multiple heat sources

 including multiple ignitions

Chemical, natural heat source

Other heat source

Heat spread from another fire

Hot or smoldering objects

Heat from powered equipment, other

Heat from open flame

 or smoking material

Percent of vacant residential building 

fires with heat source determined

Percent of all vacant residential 

building fires

25.5

9.1

23.3

8.3

21.2

7.5

11.5

4.1

8.1

2.9

3.9

1.4

3.7

1.3

2.7

1.0

64.5

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Note:	 Totals for each distribution do not add up to 100 percent due to rounding. In 65 percent of the reported vacant residential building fires, the heat source was

undetermined.

What ignites first in vacant residential building fires

“Structural member or framing” (15 percent); “exterior sidewall covering, surface, finish” (10 percent); and “structural 

component or finish, other” (7 percent) were the specific items most often first ignited in vacant residential fires 

(Table 5). “Rubbish, trash, waste” and “multiple items first ignited” accounted for an additional 13 percent of the fires.

Table 5. Leading items first ignited in vacant residential building fires (2013-2015)

Item first ignited Percent

(unknowns apportioned)

Structural member or framing 14.8

Exterior sidewall covering, surface, finish 10.2

Structural component or finish, other 7.4

Rubbish, trash, waste 6.4

Multiple items first ignited 6.4

Source: NFIRS 5.0.
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Factors contributing to ignition in vacant residential building fires

Table 6 shows the categories of factors contributing to ignition in vacant residential fires. By far, the leading category 

was the “misuse of material or product” (41 percent). Abandoned or discarded materials or products (13 percent), 

misuse of materials or products (9 percent), and heat source too close to combustibles (9 percent) accounted for the 

majority of fires in this category.

The “fire spread or control” category was a contributing factor in 26 percent of vacant residential fires. Rekindling of 

fires (14 percent) and exposure fires (8 percent) were the leading specific factors contributing to ignition in this category.

The categories “electrical failure, malfunction” and “other factors contributing to ignition” were the next leading 

factors at 13 percent each. The remaining categories also accounted for 13 percent of vacant residential fires.

Table 6. Factors contributing to ignition for vacant residential building fires by major category (where 

factors contributing to ignition were specified, 2013-2015)

Factors contributing to ignition category Percent of vacant residential fires

Misuse of material or product 40.6

Fire spread or control 26.2

Electrical failure, malfunction 12.6

Other factors contributing to ignition 12.6

Operational deficiency 4.3

Natural condition 3.9

Mechanical failure, malfunction 3.0

Design, manufacture, installation deficiency 1.3

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Notes:	 1.	Includes only incidents where factors that contributed to the ignition of the fire were specified.

	 2.	Multiple factors contributing to fire ignition may be noted for each incident; total will exceed 100 percent.

Alerting/Suppression systems in vacant residential building fires

Fire fatalities and injuries have declined over the last 35 years, partly due to new technologies to detect and extinguish 

fires. Smoke alarms are present in most homes. In addition, the use of residential sprinklers is widely supported by 

the fire service and is gaining support within residential communities.

Smoke alarm and automatic extinguishing system (AES) data presented in Tables 7 and 8 are the raw counts from 

the NFIRS dataset and are not scaled to national estimates of smoke alarms or AESs in vacant residential fires. The 

evaluation of the operation and effectiveness of alerting and suppression systems is problematic in vacant properties. 

As the properties are vacant, it is not expected that power, or water in the case of AESs, will be available to operate the 

systems. Therefore, the tables and analyses below only address data on the presence of these systems. As expected, 

both systems were largely absent in vacant residential fires.

Smoke alarm data

Smoke alarms were present in 13 percent of vacant residential fires (Table 7). In 59 percent of vacant residential fires, 

there were no smoke alarms present. In another 28 percent of these fires, firefighters were unable to determine if 

a smoke alarm was present.
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Table 7. NFIRS smoke alarm presence for vacant residential building fires (2013-2015)

Presence of smoke alarms Count Percent

Present 6,371 12.9

None present 29,255 59.1

Undetermined 13,877 28.0

Total incidents 49,503 100.0

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Note:	 The data presented in this table are raw data counts from the NFIRS dataset summed (not averaged) from 2013 to 2015. They do not represent national estimates

of smoke alarms in vacant residential building fires. They are presented for informational purposes.

Nationally, only 3 percent of households do not have smoke alarms.12 If a fire occurs, properly installed and maintained 

smoke alarms provide an early warning signal to everyone in a home. Smoke alarms help save lives and property.

The USFA continues to partner with other government agencies and fire service organizations to improve and develop 

new smoke alarm technologies. More information on smoke alarm technologies, performance, disposal and storage, 

training bulletins, and public education and outreach materials is available at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/

technology/smoke_fire_alarms.html. Additionally, the USFA’s position statement on smoke alarms is available at 

https://www.usfa.fema.gov/about/smoke_alarms_position.html.

Automatic extinguishing system data

Overall, full or partial AESs, mainly sprinklers, were present in just 1 percent of vacant residential fires (Table 8). The 

lack of suppression equipment (sprinklers) in vacant residential properties is not unexpected. The data presented 

in Table 8 are the raw counts from the NFIRS dataset and are not scaled to national estimates of AESs in vacant 

residential fires.

Table 8. NFIRS automatic extinguishing system data for vacant residential building fires (2013-2015)

Automatic extinguishing system presence Count Percent

Automatic extinguishing system present 577 1.2

Partial system present 35 0.1

Automatic extinguishing system not present 44,837 90.6

Unknown 4,054 8.2

Total incidents 49,503 100.0

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Note:	 Total percent does not add up to 100 percent due to rounding. The data presented in this table are raw data counts from the NFIRS dataset summed (not averaged)

from 2013 to 2015. They do not represent national estimates of AESs in vacant residential building fires. They are presented for informational purposes.

Residential sprinkler systems help to reduce the risk of deaths and injuries, homeowner insurance premiums, and 

uninsured property losses. Although they are often found in hotels and businesses, many homes still do not have AESs. 

Sprinklers are required by code in hotels and many multifamily residences. There are major movements in the U.S. fire 

service to require sprinklers in all new homes. Presently, however, they are largely absent in residences nationwide.13

The USFA and fire service officials across the nation are working to promote and advance residential fire sprinklers. 

More information on costs and benefits, performance, training bulletins, and public education and outreach 

materials regarding residential sprinklers is available at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/technology/home_

fire_sprinklers.html. Additionally, the USFA’s position statement on residential sprinklers is available at https://www.

usfa.fema.gov/about/sprinklers_position.html.
TFRS Volume 18, Issue 9 | Vacant Residential Building Fires (2013-2015)

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Examples

The following are recent examples of vacant residential fires reported by the media:

ĵ September 2017: Around noon, firefighters responded to a vacant house fire in Atwater, California. The house 

was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived on scene. It was reported that there were multiple fires at 

the home in the past. The house was vacant for three years and frequented by homeless people. There was no 

one in the home at the time of the fire. No injuries were reported as a result of the blaze; however, the structure 

was a total loss. The cause of the fire is under investigation.14

ĵ September 2017: Three homes were damaged by a fire that broke out in a vacant house in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. 

The fire was reported around 3:50 p.m., and by the time fire crews arrived at the scene, the structure was fully 

engulfed in flames. Although the fire spread to two neighboring, occupied homes, no injuries were reported. The 

cause of the blaze is under investigation.15

ĵ August 2017: A vacant house fire in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was determined to be intentionally set. The fire started 

around 11:20 p.m. Upon arrival at the scene, firefighters found the back of the home on fire, but extinguished the 

blaze before it could spread. The rest of the home suffered smoke damage. No injuries were reported.16

ĵ July 2017: Around noon, firefighters extinguished a fire in a vacant house in the Village of East Davenport, Illinois. 

According to the fire chief, the fire spread to the second floor of the home, and there was smoke coming out of 

the roof. It was reported that the home was being remodeled at the time the fire started. No injuries occurred 

as a result of the blaze.17

Resources

The number of vacant building fires that occur each year in the U.S. has always been a concern. This concern 

escalates with the effects of downturns in the economy, with overall increases in the number of vacant buildings 

and, incidentally, in the number of vacant building fires.

The Center for Community Progress provides information, tools and assistance to support communities in an effort 

to revitalize vacant properties. This information can be found at http://www.communityprogress.net/.

NFIRS data specifications for vacant residential building fires

Data for this report were extracted from the NFIRS annual Public Data Release files for 2013, 2014 and 2015. Only 

Version 5.0 data were extracted.

Vacant residential building fires were defined using the following criteria:

ĵ Aid Types 3 (mutual aid given) and 4 (automatic aid given) were excluded to avoid double counting incidents.

ĵ Incident Types 111 to 123 (excluding Incident Type 112), which consists of the following:

Incident Type Description

111 Building fire

113 Cooking fire, confined to container

114 Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue

115 Incinerator overload or malfunction, fire confined

116 Fuel burner/boiler malfunction, fire confined

117 Commercial compactor fire, confined to rubbish

118 Trash or rubbish fire, contained

120 Fire in mobile property used as a fixed structure, other

121 Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence

122 Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle

123 Fire in portable building, fixed location

Note:	 Incident Types 113 to 118 do not specify if the structure is a building.
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ĵ Property Use Series 400, which consists of the following:

Property Use Description

400 Residential, other

419 One- or two-family dwelling, detached, manufactured home, mobile home not in 

transit, duplex

429 Multifamily dwelling

439 Boarding/Rooming house, residential hotels

449 Hotel/Motel, commercial

459 Residential board and care

460 Dormitory-type residence, other

462 Sorority house, fraternity house

464 Barracks, dormitory

ĵ Structure Type:

Ý For Incident Types 113 to 118:

f 1—Enclosed building, or

f 2—Fixed portable or mobile structure, or

f Structure Type not specified (null entry).

Ý For Incident Types 111 and 120 to 123:

f 1—Enclosed building, or

f 2—Fixed portable or mobile structure.

ĵ Structure Status:

Ý 1—Under construction.

Ý 4—Under major renovation.

Ý 5—Vacant and secured.

Ý 6—Vacant and unsecured.

Ý 7—Being demolished.

The analyses contained in this report reflect the current methodologies used by the USFA. The USFA is committed 

to providing the best and most current information on the U.S. fire problem and continually examines its data and 

methodology to fulfill this goal. Because of this commitment, data collection strategies and methodological changes 

are possible and do occur. As a result, analyses and estimates of the fire problem may change slightly over time. 

Previous analyses and estimates on specific issues (or similar issues) may have used different methodologies or data 

definitions and may not be directly comparable to the current ones.

Information regarding the USFA’s national estimates for residential building fires, as well as the data sources used to 

derive the estimates, can be found in the document, “Data Sources and National Estimates Methodology Overview 

for the U.S. Fire Administration’s Topical Fire Report Series (Volume 18),” https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/

statistics/data_sources_and_national_estimates_methodology_vol18.pdf. This document also addresses the specific 

NFIRS data elements analyzed in the topical reports, as well as “unknown” data entries and missing data.

To request additional information, visit https://www.usfa.fema.gov/contact.html. To comment on this specific 

report, visit https://apps.usfa.fema.gov/contact/dataReportEval?reportTitle=Vacant%20Residential%20Building%20

Fires%20(2013-2015).
TFRS Volume 18, Issue 9 | Vacant Residential Building Fires (2013-2015)

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Notes: 

1National estimates are based on 2013 to 2015 native Version 5.0 data from the NFIRS, residential structure fire loss estimates from the NFPA’s 

annual surveys of fire loss, and the USFA’s residential building fire loss estimates: https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/order_download_

data.html. Further information on the USFA’s residential building fire loss estimates can be found in the “National Estimates Methodology 

for Building Fires and Losses,” August 2012, https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/statistics/national_estimate_methodology.pdf. For 

information on the NFPA’s survey methodology, see the NFPA’s report “Fire Loss in the United States During 2015,” September 2016, http://

www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/News-and-Research/Fire-statistics/Overall-Fire-Statistics/FireLoss2015.ashx?la=en&hash=7659AE333C3BE6971

ACA23F1C49BA3926A518125. In this topical report, fires are rounded to the nearest 100, deaths to the nearest five, injuries to the nearest 25, 

and dollar loss to the nearest million dollars.

2In NFIRS Version 5.0, a structure is a constructed item of which a building is one type. In previous versions of the NFIRS, the term “residential 

structure” commonly referred to buildings where people live. To coincide with this concept, the definition of a residential structure fire for 

NFIRS 5.0 includes only those fires where the NFIRS 5.0 structure type is 1 or 2 (enclosed building and fixed portable or mobile structure) 

with a residential property use. Such structures are referred to as “residential buildings” to distinguish these buildings from other structures 

on residential properties that may include fences, sheds and other uninhabitable structures. In addition, confined fire incidents that have a 

residential property use, but do not have a structure type specified, are presumed to occur in buildings. Nonconfined fire incidents that have 

a residential property use without a structure type specified are considered to be invalid incidents (structure type is a required field) and are 

not included.

3The term “residential buildings” includes what are commonly referred to as “homes,” whether they are one- or two-family dwellings or 

multifamily buildings. It also includes manufactured housing, hotels and motels, residential hotels, dormitories, assisted living facilities, and 

halfway houses — residences for formerly institutionalized individuals (patients with mental disabilities, drug addictions, or those formerly 

incarcerated) that are designed to facilitate their readjustment to private life. The term “residential buildings” does not include institutions, such 

as prisons, nursing homes, juvenile care facilities, or hospitals, even though people may reside in these facilities for short or long periods of time.

4Howley, Kathleen M., “Arson Surges for Foreclosed Homes Lost to Subprime (Update 1),” July 3, 2008.

5Fire department participation in the NFIRS is voluntary; however, some states do require their departments to participate in the state system. 

Additionally, if a fire department is a recipient of a Fire Act Grant, participation is required. From 2013 to 2015, 67 percent of the NFPA’s annual 

average estimated 1,294,500 fires to which fire departments responded were captured in the NFIRS. Thus, the NFIRS is not representative of 

all fire incidents in the U.S. and is not a “complete” census of fire incidents. Although the NFIRS does not represent 100 percent of the incidents 

reported to fire departments each year, the enormous dataset exhibits stability from one year to the next without radical changes. Results 

based on the full dataset are generally similar to those based on part of the data.

6In the NFIRS, confined fires are defined by Incident Type codes 113 to 118.

7The NFIRS distinguishes between “content” and “property” loss. Content loss includes losses to the contents of a structure due to damage by 

fire, smoke, water and overhaul. Property loss includes losses to the structure itself or to the property itself. Total loss is the sum of the content 

loss and the property loss. For confined fires, the expectation is that the fire did not spread beyond the container (or rubbish for Incident Type 

code 118); hence, there was no property damage (damage to the structure itself) from the flames. However, there could be property damage 

as a result of smoke, water and overhaul.

8The average fire death and fire injury loss rates computed from the national estimates do not agree with average fire death and fire injury 

loss rates computed from the NFIRS data alone. The fire death rate computed from national estimates is (1,000 x (75/23,800)) = 3.2 deaths per 

1,000 vacant residential building fires, and the fire injury rate is (1,000 x (200/23,800)) = 8.4 injuries per 1,000 vacant residential building fires.

9For the purposes of this report, the time of the fire alarm is used as an approximation for the general time at which the fire started. However, 

in the NFIRS, it is the time at which the fire was reported to the fire department.

10Fires caused by intentional actions include, but are not limited to, fires that are deemed to be arson. Intentional fires are those fires that are 

deliberately set and include fires that result from the deliberate misuse of a heat source and fires of an incendiary nature (arson) that require 

fire service intervention. For information and statistics on arson fires only, refer to the Uniform Crime Reporting Program arson statistics from 

the U.S. Department of Justice, FBI, Criminal Justice Information Services Division, https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/ucr.

11The USFA Structure Fire Cause Methodology was used to determine the cause of vacant residential building fires. The cause methodology and 

definitions can be found in the document “National Fire Incident Reporting System Version 5.0 Fire Data Analysis Guidelines and Issues,” July 

2011, https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/nfirs/nfirs_data_analysis_guidelines_issues.pdf.

12Greene, Michael and Andres, Craig “2004-2005 National Sample Survey of Unreported Residential Fires,” Division of Hazard Analysis, Directorate 

for Epidemiology, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, July 2009.

13U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey for the United States: 2011, September 

2013, “Health and Safety Characteristics-All Occupied Units (National),” Table S-01-AO, https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/programssurveys/ahs/data/2011/h150-11.pdf (accessed Oct. 18, 2017).

14Velez, Monica, “Vacant Atwater home destroyed in fire,” www.modbee.com, Sept. 4, 2017, http://www.modbee.com/news/article171231442.

html (accessed Oct. 19, 2017).

15Kernan, Patrick, “Fire breaks out at vacant home in Wilkes-Barre, spreads to neighboring houses,” www.timesleader.com, Sept. 2, 2017, http://

www.timesleader.com/news/local/673992/673992 (accessed Oct. 19, 2017).

16“Fire at vacant home on Delaware Street found to be arson, Baton Rouge Fire Department says,” www.theadvocate.com, Aug. 29, 2017, http://

www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/article_09cd73b6-8cb6-11e7-a70f-ff3dcb904223.html (accessed Oct. 19, 2017).

17Noe, Megan, “Vacant home in Village of East Davenport catches fire,” wqad.com, July 14, 2017, http://wqad.com/2017/07/14/vacant-home-invillage-of-east-davenport-catches-fire/ (accessed Oct. 19, 2017).