Topical Fire Report Series

U.S. Department of Homeland Security • U.S. Fire Administration 

National Fire Data Center • Emmitsburg, Maryland 21727 

www.usfa.fema.gov/statistics/

Volume 14, Issue 14 / April 2014

School Building Fires (2009-2011)

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 (USFA’s) National 

Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). 

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

■ An estimated 4,000 school building fires were reported by United States fire 

departments each year and caused an estimated 75 injuries and $66.1 million in 

property loss.

■ Fatalities resulting from school building fires were rare. 

■ There was a general increase in school building fires toward the beginning and end 

of the academic year. 

■ The three leading causes of school building fires were cooking (42 percent), 

intentional action (24 percent) and heating (10 percent). At 41 percent, intentional 

action was the leading cause of nonconfined school building fires.

■ The leading area of fire origin in nonconfined school building fires was the bathroom 

at 25 percent.

■ In 75 percent of school building fires, the fire spread was limited to the object 

of origin.

■ Smoke alarms were reported as present in 66 percent of nonconfined school 

building fires.

School building fires are a subset of school property 

fires (i.e., school structure fires).1

 School property fires 

may include structure fires; vehicle and outside fires that 

occur outdoors on school property; and other, miscellaneous fires. It is important to note that not all structures 

on school properties are necessarily school buildings. 

For example, other structures on school properties may 

include maintenance buildings or playground structures. 

This report includes brief background information on all 

school property fires, with the focus of the report on school 

building fires.

Using the latest available three years of data for 2009 to 

2011, from the National Fire Incident Reporting System 

(NFIRS) database, the average annual national fire loss from 

school property fires was estimated at $84.6 million. Such 

losses were the result of an estimated annual average of 

10,300 school property fires that required a fire department 

response. These school property fires caused an estimated 

annual average of 75 injuries and five fatalities.2, 3 For this 

topical report, school properties include preschools and day 

cares; kindergartens; elementary, middle, junior and high 

schools; and other, nonadult schools. Of all school property 

fires, 41 percent occurred outdoors.4

 Trash or rubbish fires 

accounted for 58 percent of these outside fires, and fires in 

open fields or woods accounted for an additional 30 percent. Vehicle fires accounted for only 6 percent of all school 

property fires. 

From 2009 to 2011, 39 percent of all school property fires, 

an estimated annual average of 4,000 fires, were building 

fires. Annually, these school building fires resulted in an 

estimated 75 injuries and $66.1 million in property loss.5

Because the majority of school property fire injuries and 

dollar loss occurred in school buildings, this topical report 

addresses the characteristics of school building fires as 

reported to NFIRS from 2009 to 2011.6

 The NFIRS data are 

used for the analyses presented throughout this report.
TFRS Volume 14, Issue 14/School Building Fires (2009-2011) Page 2

School Fires by General Property Type

Figure 1 presents the percentage distribution of different 

types of schools (middle, junior and high schools; elementary schools, including kindergartens; preschools and day 

cares; and other, nonadult schools) by general property type 

fires (i.e., nonresidential structure fires, vehicle fires, outside fires and other fires). Overall, the most fires occurred at 

middle, junior and high schools (42 percent), followed by 

elementary schools (38 percent); preschools and day cares 

(12 percent); and other, nonadult schools (8 percent). In 

reviewing Figure 1, it is apparent that most distributions of 

general property type fires by school type typically mimic 

the overall distribution noted above. The distribution of 

outside fires, however, does not fit the same basic trend — 

elementary schools lead the outside fire category with 52 

percent of the total; followed by middle, junior and high 

schools (36 percent); other, nonadult schools (7 percent); 

and preschools and day cares (5 percent).

During the months of June through August, 41 percent 

of outside fires occurred at elementary schools; 18 percent of outside fires at these elementary schools occurred 

during the month of July alone (Figure 2). One potential 

explanation for this may be that elementary schools are 

more attractive targets for intentionally set fires during the 

summer months since there are normally fewer school staff 

members present to monitor the grounds. 

Figure 1. Fires by General Property Type and School Type (2009-2011)

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

Nonadult 

School, Other

Middle, Junior 

and High School

Elementary 

School

Preschool and 

Day Care

Nonresidential Vehicle Fires Outside Fires Other Fires

Structure Fires

Percent

18.2

28.0

43.6

10.2 10.0

32.5

51.4

6.1 5.1

51.7

36.5

6.7 8.6

31.3

50.8

9.3

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Generally, school property fires, as seen in Figure 2, follow 

a seasonal trend. Nonresidential structure fires, vehicle 

fires and other fires were more prevalent during the 

school year, while outside fires occurred most frequently 

during the summer months. Outside fires peaked during 

the month of July and occurred at a much higher rate on 

elementary school properties than on all other types of 

school properties.
TFRS Volume 14, Issue 14/School Building Fires (2009-2011) Page 3

Figure 2. School Property Fires by School Type and Month (2009-2011)

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jul

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Nonresidential Structure Fires

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jul

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Vehicle Fires

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jul

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Outside Fires

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jul

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Other Fires

Nonadult School, Other

Middle, Junior and High School

Elementary School

Preschool and Day Care

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

School Building Fires

For the remainder of the report, the term “school fires” 

indicates “school building fires” as opposed to “school 

property fires” or all school fires.

Type of School Building Fires

School fires can be divided into two classes of severity in 

NFIRS: “confined fires,” which are fires confined to certain 

types of equipment or objects, and “nonconfined fires.” 

Confined building fires are small fire incidents that are 

limited in extent, staying within cooking pots, fireplaces 

or certain other noncombustible containers.7

 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.8

 Of the two classes of severity, nonconfined fires accounted for 37 percent of school 

fires (Table 1). The smaller confined fires accounted for the 

remaining 63 percent. Cooking fires (30 percent) were the 

predominant type of confined fires in school buildings, followed by fires confined to a trash can (26 percent). 
TFRS Volume 14, Issue 14/School Building Fires (2009-2011) Page 4

Table 1. School Building Fires by Type of Incident (2009-2011)

Incident Type Percent

Nonconfined fires 37.1

Confined fires 62.9

Cooking fire, confined to container 29.9

Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue 0.4

Incinerator overload or malfunction, fire confined 0.5

Fuel burner/boiler malfunction, fire confined 5.8

Commercial compactor fire, confined to rubbish 0.3

Trash or rubbish fire, contained 26.1

Total 100.0

Source: NFIRS 5.0. 

Note: Confined fire incident type percentages do not add up to the total confined fires percentage due to rounding.

Loss Measures for School Building Fires

Table 2 presents losses, averaged over the three-year period 

from 2009-2011, of reported nonresidential and school 

building fires.9

 The average number of injuries per 1,000 

school fires was higher than the same loss measure for fires 

in nonresidential buildings (excluding schools). However, 

the average dollar loss per fire for nonresidential buildings was nearly twice that of school buildings. Perhaps one 

explanation for this difference in dollar loss per fire is that 

63 percent of school fires were confined, generally resulting in no significant property loss due to flame damage. By 

comparison, confined fires accounted for 49 percent of all 

nonresidential building fires.10

Table 2. Loss Measures for School Building Fires and All Other Nonresidential Building Fires 

(Three-Year Average, 2009-2011)

Measure School Building Fires Nonresidential Building Fires

(Excludes School Building Fires)

Average Loss:

Fatalities/1,000 fires 0.4 1.0

Injuries/1,000 fires 13.5 9.8

Dollar loss/fire 14,060 27,350

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Notes: 1. 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. 

2. When calculating the average dollar loss per fire for 2009-2011, the 2009 and 2010 dollar-loss values were adjusted to their equivalent 2011 dollar-loss values to account for inflation.

When School Building Fires Start

In 71 percent of school fires, the fires occurred between 

8 a.m. and 5 p.m., the hours that students are most likely 

to be in school, as shown in Figure 3.11 In 18 percent of the 

school fires, the fires occurred between 5 p.m. and midnight, 

and 12 percent occurred between midnight and 8 a.m.12

Overall, the average peak months for school fires in the 

years 2009-2011 were January and March (10 percent each), 

driven by a proportionately large number of fires in middle, 

junior and high schools. On average, less than half (44 

percent) of all school fires occurred in middle, junior and 

high schools. Fire incidence in school buildings was at its 

lowest during the months of July and August, when classes 

are generally not in session, as shown in Figure 4.
TFRS Volume 14, Issue 14/School Building Fires (2009-2011) Page 5

Figure 3. School Building Fires by Time of Alarm (2009-2011)

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

9.0

10.0

11.0

11PM-Mid

10PM-11PM

9PM-10PM

1PM-2PM2PM-3PM3PM-4PM4PM-5PM5PM-6PM6PM-7PM7PM-8PM8PM-9PM

12PM-1PM

10AM-11AM

11AM-12PM

9AM-10AM

Mid-1AM

1AM-2AM2AM-3AM3AM-4AM4AM-5AM5AM-6AM6AM-7AM7AM-8AM8AM-9AM

Time of Alarm

Percent of School Building Fires

1.1 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.8 1.1

2.0

4.1

6.2

8.3

9.7 9.9

3.6

2.7 2.3 2.3

1.7

1.2

9.8

8.6

5.7

4.7

3.7

7.7

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Note: Total does not add up to 100 percent due to rounding.

Figure 4. School Building Fires by Month (2009-2011)

Month of Year

Percent of School Building Fires

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

9.1

10.2

9.1 9.2

7.0

5.4 5.7

7.4

9.6

8.6 8.5

10.2

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Causes of School Building Fires

Overall, the three leading causes of school fires were cooking (42 percent), intentional action (24 percent) and heating (10 percent).13 Fires in preschools and day cares were 

predominantly due to cooking (73 percent), followed by 

heating (6 percent) and electrical malfunction (5 percent), 

as shown in Table 3. The causes for fires in elementary 

schools mostly involved cooking (37 percent), intentional 

activity (24 percent) and heating (12 percent). The primary 

cause of fires in middle, junior and high schools was due to 

intentional activity (40 percent), followed by cooking (26 

percent) and heating (8 percent).

Children may be the primary group involved in setting 

arson fires in schools; unfortunately, this cannot be determined from NFIRS data alone. As shown in Figure 5, the 

highest percentage of fires occurred in middle, junior and 

high schools, followed by elementary schools. This distribution does not imply an associated age for a juvenile 

involved in the firesetting, but it does suggest the potential 

for middle and high school age involvement.
TFRS Volume 14, Issue 14/School Building Fires (2009-2011) Page 6

Table 3. Top Three Leading Causes of School Building Fires by School Type (2009-2011)

Preschool and Day Care Elementary School Middle, Junior and High School Nonadult School, Other

Cooking (73.3%) Cooking (36.5%) Intentional (40.1%) Cooking (46.2%)

Heating (6.4%) Intentional (23.5%) Cooking (25.5%) Heating (21.7%)

Electrical malfunction (5.2%) Heating (12.4%) Heating (7.9%) Intentional (11.2%)

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Note: Percentages reflect unknowns apportioned.

Figure 5. School Building Fires by School Type (2009-2011)

Preschool and Daycare

Nonadult School, Other

Middle, Junior and High School

Elementary School

27.5%

43.6%

10.2%

18.7%

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Youth Firesetting

Intentional activity accounted for 40 percent of all fires in 

middle, junior and high schools and 24 percent of all fires 

in elementary schools. While 44 percent of school fires 

occurred in middle, junior and high schools, 28 percent 

occurred in elementary schools. This could explain the difference between intentional firesetting in older students and 

outdoor firesetting in younger students. In order to discourage fires initiated by young people, many studies and fire 

education programs target juveniles under the age of 18. 

Youths involved in firesetting generally fall into four basic 

psychological classifications: (1) curious; (2) crisis; (3) 

delinquent; and (4) pathological.14 The first group normally 

involves younger children who experiment out of curiosity with common sources of ignition, such as matches or 

lighters, and lack supervision. These children usually do 

not understand the danger associated with their actions. 

Children who misuse fire once are five times more likely to 

experiment with fire again unless professional intervention 

takes place.15

The second group includes youths in crises. In general, 

these youths do not have adequate problem-solving skills or 

cannot sufficiently express their feelings. As a result, they 

may use fire in a reactionary way to convey their feelings. 

This group also lacks supervision and has easy access to 

sources of ignition.

The third group, classified as delinquent, is typically 

comprised of older adolescents who, exhibiting antisocial 

behavior, set fires with the intent of causing destruction. 

Their fires may be peer-driven, for example, pranks, dares 

or showing off. Many members of this group do not realize 

the legal repercussions associated with setting fires. 

However, adolescents who do understand the legal repercussions yet continue to set fires also represent a serious 

problem. These fires qualify as intentional, with little respect 

for life or property. Youths in this group are more likely to 

associate with gangs and other gang-like activity, and they 

may possess a potential for future violent behavior.16

The fourth group consists of pathological firesetters, who 

are typically teenagers. Members of this group generally 

have mental disorders, few social skills, and rarely any personal relationships with their peers. Firesetting tends to be 

a coping mechanism for these individuals.

These four categories are not always mutually exclusive. A 

firesetter may use fire for multiple reasons simultaneously. 

At any rate, references to psychological typology appear 

widely in the literature.17
TFRS Volume 14, Issue 14/School Building Fires (2009-2011) Page 7

A partnership between schools, the fire service, and the 

judicial system allows for early identification of firesetters. 

In particular, schools should report all fires immediately 

to the local fire service. Quick and full reporting helps the 

community recognize children using fire in inappropriate 

and unsafe ways. Early identification of a fire and its ignition source can lead to successful community-based intervention strategies for juvenile firesetting.18

Fire Spread in School Building Fires

As shown in Figure 6, 75 percent of school fires were limited 

to the object of origin. Included in these fires were those 

coded as “confined fires” in NFIRS. In 18 percent of fires, the 

fire was limited to the room of origin. In addition, only 8 

percent of fires extended beyond the room of origin.19 

Figure 6. Extent of Fire Spread in School Building Fires (2009-2011)

0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0

Beyond Building of Origin

Limited to Building of Origin

Limited to Floor of Origin

Limited to Room of Origin

Limited to Object of Origin 74.9

17.5

1.7

5.3

0.6

Percent of School Building Fires

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Confined Fires

NFIRS allows abbreviated reporting for smaller, confined 

fires, and many details of these fires are not required to 

be reported. It is important to note that not all fires where 

the extent of fire spread is limited to the object of origin 

are counted as NFIRS confined fires.20 For example, a fire 

in which the fire spread is limited to a chair or desk is 

not defined as a “confined fire” in NFIRS because of the 

greater potential for spread. As noted earlier in this report, 

it is known that confined fires accounted for 63 percent of 

all school fires (Table 1). Confined cooking fires — those 

cooking fires confined to a pot or the oven, for example — 

accounted for 48 percent of these confined fires. 

In addition, the number of confined school fires was greatest from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., peaking between the hours of 

11 a.m. and 12 p.m. These fires accounted for 47 percent of 

all school fires. Moreover, confined cooking fires in school 

buildings accounted for 50 percent of all confined fires and 

34 percent of all fires in school buildings that occurred 

between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. 

Confined school fires peaked in January and March (11 percent each), then steadily declined until reaching the lowest 

incidence in July and August (5 percent each). Fires then 

increased, peaking again in October at 10 percent.

Nonconfined Fires

The next sections of this topical report address nonconfined 

school fires — the larger and more serious fires that are 

not confined to a noncombustible container — where more 

detailed fire data are available, as they are required to be 

reported in NFIRS.

Causes of Nonconfined School Building Fires

While cooking was the leading cause of school fires overall, 

it only accounted for 2 percent of all nonconfined school 

fires (Figure 7). At 41 percent, intentional was the leading 

cause of nonconfined school fires. Other leading causes of 

nonconfined school fires were electrical malfunction (15 

percent); other unintentional, careless action (7 percent); 

equipment misoperation, failure (6 percent); and appliances 

(6 percent). 
TFRS Volume 14, Issue 14/School Building Fires (2009-2011) Page 8

Figure 7. Causes of Nonconfined School Building Fires (2009-2011)

0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 35.0 40.0 45.0

Percent of All Nonconfined

School Building Fires

Percent of Nonconfined 

School Building Fires 

with Cause Determined

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 Nonconfined School Building FIres

Cause

40.5

31.5

1.1

0.9

0.8

0.6

4.3

3.4

2.3

1.8

15.2

11.8

5.9

4.6

4.8

3.7

4.8

3.8

1.6

1.2

2.3

1.8

1.2

0.9

6.3

4.9

7.1

5.5

1.8

1.4

22.2

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Note: 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, approximately 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.

Where Nonconfined School Building Fires Start

Overall, the three leading areas of fire origin in nonconfined school fires were bathrooms, small assembly areas, 

and kitchens (Table 4). Nearly one quarter of nonconfined 

school fires started in bathrooms. Almost 80 percent of 

these bathroom fires were intentional in nature. Older 

students smoking in bathrooms also may increase the risk 

of such fires — 67 percent of nonconfined fires in school 

bathrooms occurred in middle, junior and high schools. 

Bathrooms present children and young teens with a place 

to set a fire without having to contend with constant adult 

supervision. Small assembly areas for less than 100 people 

(6 percent) were the second most frequent place for nonconfined school fires and typically occurred in middle, 

junior and high schools as well as elementary schools. 

Kitchens (6 percent) were the third leading area of origin 

for nonconfined school fires, reflecting cooking fires. With 

the exception of nonadult schools (4 percent), kitchen fires 

occurred in roughly equal proportions in the different 

school types. Middle, junior and high schools accounted 

for 33 percent of kitchen fires; elementary schools had 32 

percent; and 31 percent occurred in preschools. 
TFRS Volume 14, Issue 14/School Building Fires (2009-2011) Page 9

Table 4. Leading Areas of Fire Origin in Nonconfined School Building Fires (2009-2011)

Type of School Areas of Fire Origin (Percent, Unknowns Apportioned)

Bathroom Assembly Area < 100 People Kitchen

Overall 24.5 5.9 5.7

Preschool and day care 12.4 4.0 13.1

Elementary school 18.3 8.6 6.2

Middle, junior and high school 32.4 5.0 3.7

Nonadult school, other 16.5 4.3 3.0

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Fire Spread in Nonconfined School Building Fires

Figure 8 shows the extent of fire spread in nonconfined 

school fires. In 80 percent of nonconfined fires, the fire was 

limited to the object or room of fire origin — in 40 percent 

of nonconfined fires, the fire was limited to the room of 

origin; in another 40 percent of fires, the fire was limited 

to the object of origin. (Note that a fire confined to a chair 

or desk is not defined as a “confined fire” because of the 

greater potential for spread. Unlike fires in pots or chimneys, there is no container to stop the fire, even though the 

fire did not spread beyond the object of origin.)

In 20 percent of nonconfined school fires, the fire extended 

beyond the room of origin. The leading causes of these 

larger nonconfined fires were intentional (37 percent); 

electrical malfunction (12 percent); other unintentional, 

careless actions (9 percent); and other heat (8 percent). 

Figure 8. Extent of Fire Spread in Nonconfined School Building Fires (2009-2011)

0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0

Beyond Building of Origin

Limited to Building of Origin

Limited to Floor of Origin

Limited to Room of Origin

Limited to Object of Origin 39.8

40.2

4.3

14.2

1.5

Percent of Nonconfined School Building Fires

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Factors Contributing to Ignition in Nonconfined 

School Building Fires

Table 5 shows the categories of factors contributing to ignition in nonconfined school building fires. The leading category was the misuse of material or product (45 percent). 

In this category, the leading specific factors contributing 

to ignition were playing with heat source (15 percent) and 

misuse of material or product, other (11 percent). 

Electrical failures and malfunctions contributed to 25 percent of nonconfined school fires. Electrical failure, malfunction, other was the specific leading factor in the electrical 

failure category and accounted for 12 percent of all nonconfined school fires. Mechanical failure, malfunction was the 

third leading category at 12 percent. 
TFRS Volume 14, Issue 14/School Building Fires (2009-2011) Page 10

Table 5. Factors Contributing to Ignition for Nonconfined School Building Fires 

by Major Category (Where Factors Contributing to Ignition are Specified, (2009-2011)

Factors Contributing to Ignition Category Percent of Nonconfined School Building Fires

(Unknowns Apportioned)

Misuse of material or product 44.5

Electrical failure, malfunction 24.9

Mechanical failure, malfunction 12.0

Other factors contributing to ignition 11.3

Operational deficiency 7.2

Fire spread or control 3.0

Design, manufacture, installation deficiency 1.7

Natural condition 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; the total will exceed 100 percent. 

How Nonconfined School Building Fires Start 

(Heat Source)

Figure 9 shows sources of heat categories for nonconfined 

school fires. Heat from powered equipment accounted 

for 48 percent of nonconfined school fires. This category 

includes heat from other powered equipment (15 percent); 

electrical arcing (15 percent); radiated or conducted heat 

from operating equipment (12 percent); and spark, ember 

or flame from operating equipment (6 percent). 

Heat from open flame or smoking materials accounted 

for 32 percent of nonconfined school fires. This category 

includes such items as lighters and matches (combined, 18 

percent), other miscellaneous open flame or smoking materials (10 percent), and open flame lanterns (2 percent). 

The third largest category pertains to hot or smoldering 

objects (8 percent). This category includes miscellaneous 

hot or smoldering objects (4 percent) and hot embers or 

ashes, molten hot material, and heat spark from friction 

(combined, 4 percent).

Figure 9. Sources of Heat in Nonconfined School Building Fires by Major Category 

(2009-2011)

0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0

Percent of all Nonconfined 

School Building Fires

Percent of Nonconfined 

School Building Fires with 

Heat Source Determined

Undetermined

Multiple Heat Sources

Including Multiple Ignitions

Explosives, Fireworks

Chemical, Natural Heat Source

Heat Spread From Another Fire

Other Heat Source

Hot or Smoldering Objects

Heat From Open Flame or 

Smoking Material

Heat From Powered Equipment

Percent of Nonconfined School Building Fires

48.2

32.4

32.4

21.8

7.9

5.3

4.4

3.0

2.8

1.9

2.1

1.4

1.4

1.0

0.8

0.5

32.7

Source: NFIRS 5.0.
TFRS Volume 14, Issue 14/School Building Fires (2009-2011) Page 11

Alerting/Suppression Systems in School 

Building Fires

Technologies to detect and extinguish fires have been a 

major contributor to the drop in fire fatalities and injuries 

over the past 35 years. In addition, the installation of smoke 

alarms and fire sprinklers is generally required in schools 

where an increased risk to life is present. 

Smoke alarm data are available for both confined and nonconfined fires, although for confined fires, the data are very 

limited in scope. Since different levels of data are collected 

on smoke alarms in confined and nonconfined fires, the 

analyses are performed separately. Note that the data presented in Tables 6 to 8 are the raw counts from the NFIRS 

dataset and are not scaled to national estimates of smoke 

alarms in school fires. In addition, NFIRS does not allow for 

the determination of the type of smoke alarm (i.e., photoelectric or ionization) or the location of the smoke alarm 

with respect to the area of fire origin.

Smoke Alarms in Nonconfined Fires 

Overall, smoke alarms were reported as present in 66 percent of nonconfined school fires (Table 6). In 22 percent of 

nonconfined school fires, there were no smoke alarms present. In another 12 percent of these fires, firefighters were 

unable to determine if a smoke alarm was present. Thus, 

smoke alarms were potentially missing in between 12 and 

34 percent of fires with the ability to spread and possibly 

result in fatalities.

Table 6. Presence of Smoke Alarms in Nonconfined School Building Fires (2009-2011)

Presence of Smoke Alarms Percent

Present 66.4

None present 22.1

Undetermined 11.5

Total 100.0

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

While 17 percent of all nonconfined school fires occurred in 

school buildings that are not currently or routinely occupied, 

these buildings — which are under construction, undergoing major renovation, vacant and the like — are unlikely to 

have alerting and suppression systems that are in place and, 

if in place, that are operational. In fact, only 17 percent of 

all nonconfined fires in unoccupied school buildings were 

reported as having smoke alarms that operated. As a result, 

the detailed smoke alarm analyses in the next section focus 

on nonconfined fires in occupied school buildings only.21

Smoke Alarms in Nonconfined Fires in Occupied 

School Buildings

Smoke alarms were reported as present in 73 percent of 

nonconfined fires in occupied school buildings (Table 7). In 

17 percent of nonconfined fires in occupied school buildings, 

there were no smoke alarms present. In another 11 percent of 

these fires, firefighters were unable to determine if a smoke 

alarm was present; unfortunately, in 27 percent of the fires 

where the presence of a smoke alarm was undetermined, 

either the flames involved the building of origin or spread 

beyond it. The fires were so large and destructive that it is 

unlikely the presence of a smoke alarm could be determined. 

When smoke alarms were present (73 percent) and the 

alarm operational status is considered, the percentage of 

smoke alarms reported as present consisted of:

•	 Present and operated — 45 percent.

•	 Present but did not operate — 20 percent (fire too 

small, 17 percent; alarm failed to operate, 3 percent).

•	 Present but operational status unknown — 7 percent.22

When the subset of incidents where smoke alarms were 

reported as present are analyzed separately and as a whole, 

smoke alarms were reported to have operated in 62 percent of the incidents and failed to operate in 5 percent. In 

23 percent of this subset, the fire was too small to activate 

the alarm. The operational status of the alarm was undetermined in 10 percent of these incidents.

At least 17 percent of nonconfined fires in occupied school 

buildings had no smoke alarms present — and perhaps 

more if fires without information on smoke alarms could 

be factored in.23 A large proportion of reported fires without smoke alarms may reflect the effectiveness of the alarms 

themselves: Smoke alarms do not prevent fires, but they 

may prevent a fire from being reported if it is detected at 

an early stage and extinguished before the fire department 

becomes involved. Alternatively, fires in schools without 

smoke alarms may not be detected at an early stage, causing 

them to grow large, require fire department intervention, 

and thus be reported. 
TFRS Volume 14, Issue 14/School Building Fires (2009-2011) Page 12

Table 7. NFIRS Smoke Alarm Data for Nonconfined Fires in Occupied School Buildings 

(2009-2011)

Presence of 

Smoke Alarms Smoke Alarm Operational Status Smoke Alarm Effectiveness Count Percent

Present

Fire too small to activate smoke alarm 476 16.9

Smoke alarm operated

Smoke alarm alerted occupants, occupants responded 952 33.9

Smoke alarm alerted occupants, occupants failed to respond 29 1.0

No occupants 250 8.9

Smoke alarm failed to alert occupants 6 0.2

Undetermined 34 1.2

Smoke alarm failed to operate 92 3.3

Undetermined 200 7.1

None present 469 16.7

Undetermined 301 10.7

Total incidents 2,809 100.0

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Note: The data presented in this table are raw data counts from the NFIRS dataset. They do not represent national estimates of smoke alarms in nonconfined fires in occupied school buildings. They are presented 

for informational purposes. Total does not add to 100 percent due to rounding. 

Smoke Alarms in Confined Fires

Less information about smoke alarm status is collected for 

confined fires, but the data still give important insights 

about the effectiveness of alerting occupants in these types 

of fires. The analyses presented here do not differentiate 

between occupied and unoccupied school buildings, as this 

data detail is not required when reporting confined fires in 

NFIRS. However, an assumption may be made that confined 

fires are fires in occupied buildings, since these types of 

fires are unlikely to be reported in school buildings that are 

not occupied.24

Smoke alarms alerted occupants in 56 percent of the 

reported confined school fires (Table 8). In other words, 

students and staff received a warning from a smoke alarm 

in just over half of these fires. The data suggest that smoke 

alarms may alert individuals to confined fires, as the early 

alerting allowed the occupants to extinguish the fires, or 

the fires self-extinguished. If this is the case, it is an example of the contribution to overall safety and the ability to 

rapidly respond to fires in early stages that smoke alarms 

afford. Details on smoke alarm effectiveness for confined 

fires are needed to pursue this analysis further.

Occupants were not alerted by smoke alarms in 17 percent 

of confined school fires.25 In 27 percent of these confined 

fires, the smoke alarm effectiveness was unknown.

Table 8. NFIRS Smoke Alarm Data for Confined School Building Fires (2009-2011)

Smoke Alarm Effectiveness Count Percent

Smoke alarm alerted occupants 3,201 56.1

Smoke alarm did not alert occupants 956 16.7

Unknown 1,553 27.2

Total incidents 5,710 100.0

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Note: The data presented in this table are raw data counts from the NFIRS dataset. They do not represent national estimates of smoke alarms in confined school building fires. They are presented for informational 

purposes. 

Automatic Extinguishing Systems in Nonconfined 

Fires in Occupied School Buildings 

Automatic extinguishing system (AES) data are available for 

both confined and nonconfined fires, although for confined fires the data are also very limited in scope. In confined school fires, a full or partial AES was present in only 

4 percent of reported incidents.26 As a result, the analyses 

here focus on nonconfined fires. In addition, the analyses 

presented here focus on occupied buildings, as unoccupied 

buildings, such as those that are under construction, are less 

likely to have AESs present.

Although model building codes require sprinklers in most 

new school construction, full or partial AESs were reported 

as present in only 33 percent of nonconfined fires in occupied school buildings (Table 9). AESs were not present in 58 

percent of these fires. Many school buildings are older, and 

their construction predates the current building codes.
TFRS Volume 14, Issue 14/School Building Fires (2009-2011) Page 13

Table 9. NFIRS AES Data for Nonconfined Fires in Occupied School Buildings (2009-2011)

AES Presence Count Percent

AES present 861 30.7

Partial system present 58 2.1

AES not present 1,636 58.2

Unknown 254 9.0

Total incidents 2,809 100.0

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Note: The data presented in this table are raw data counts from the NFIRS dataset. They do not represent national estimates of AESs in nonconfined fires in occupied school buildings. They are presented for informational purposes. 

Examples

The following are some recent examples of school fires 

reported by the media:

•	 September 2013: In Collin County, Texas, two teenagers were arrested for starting a fire inside a bathroom 

of Farmersville Junior High School. The suspects, both 

16 years old, were taken into custody, and one of them 

confessed to the crime. According to police, the heat 

from the flames caused damage to some pipes and severe 

flooding, resulting in extensive damage to the building.27

•	 September 2013: Two students and a teacher at Roach 

Middle School in Frisco, Texas, were injured as a result of 

a fire caused by an accident during a classroom science 

experiment. Authorities said the experiment involved 

strontium chloride, methyl alcohol and a lighter. One 

student was flown to a Dallas hospital for treatment of 

first and second degree burns, while the teacher and 

other student were treated at the scene. Investigators said 

the teacher used the classroom’s fire extinguisher to put 

the flame out before firefighters arrived.28

•	 September 2013: An early morning, two-alarm fire 

destroyed a Jewish girls’ school outside Monticello, New 

York. Firefighters from Monticello and several other 

departments responded to the blaze that was reported 

at 4:21 a.m. No injuries were reported as the building 

was unoccupied when the fire broke out; however, the 

building was a total loss. The cause of the fire remained 

under investigation.29

NFIRS Data Specifications for School 

Building Fires

Data for this report were extracted from the NFIRS annual 

Public Data Release files for 2009, 2010 and 2011. Only 

Version 5.0 data were extracted.

School building fires were defined using the following 

criteria:

•	 Aid Types 3 (mutual aid given) and 4 (automatic 

aid given) were excluded to avoid double counting 

of incidents.

•	 Incident Types 111-123 (excluding Incident Type 112):

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 113-118 do not specify if the structure is a building.

•	 Property use codes from the 200 series, consisting of 

the following:

Property 

Use Description

210 Schools, nonadult, other

211

Preschool, not in same facility with other grades; 

includes nursery schools; excludes kindergartens (213) 

and day care facilities (254, 255)

213 Elementary school; includes kindergarten

215 High school, junior high, middle school

254 Day care in commercial property

255 Day care in residence, licensed

256 Day care in residence, unlicensed
TFRS Volume 14, Issue 14/School Building Fires (2009-2011) Page 14

•	 Structure type:

– For Incident Types 113-118:

▪ 1 — enclosed building.

▪ 2 — fixed portable or mobile structure, and 

structure type not specified (null entry).

– For Incident Types 111 and 120-123:

▪ 1 — enclosed building.

▪ 2 — fixed portable or mobile structure.

The analyses contained in this report reflect the current 

methodologies used by USFA. 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.

To request additional information or to comment on this 

report, visit https://apps.usfa.fema.gov/feedback/.

Notes: 

1 In NFIRS Version 5.0, a structure is a constructed item of which a building is one type. In previous versions of NFIRS, the 

term “nonresidential structure” commonly referred to buildings where people work, gather, learn, dine, shop, etc. To coincide with this concept, the definition of a nonresidential structure fire for NFIRS 5.0 has, therefore, changed to include only 

those fires where the NFIRS 5.0 Structure Type is 1 or 2 (enclosed building and fixed portable or mobile structure) with a 

nonresidential property use. Such structures are referred to as “nonresidential buildings” to distinguish these buildings from 

other structures on nonresidential properties that may include fences, bridges and other various open structures. Confined 

fire incidents without a structure type specified are presumed to occur in buildings. Nonconfined fire incidents without a 

structure type specified are considered to be invalid incidents (structure type is a required field) and are not included.

2 National estimates are based on 2009-2011 native Version 5.0 data from NFIRS, nonresidential structure fire loss estimates 

from the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA’s) annual surveys of fire loss, and USFA’s nonresidential building fire 

loss estimates: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/statistics/estimates/index.shtm. Further information on USFA’s nonresidential 

building fire loss estimates is found in the “National Estimates Methodology for Building Fires and Losses,” August 2012, 

http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/statistics/national_estimate_methodology.pdf. For information on NFPA’s survey 

methodology, see NFPA’s report on fire loss in the U.S.: http://www.nfpa.org/~/media/Files/Research/NFPA%20reports/

Overall%20Fire%20Statistics/osfireloss.pdf. In this school building fires topical report, fires are rounded to the nearest 100, 

deaths to the nearest five, injuries to the nearest 25, and losses to the nearest $100 million.

3 The estimate of fire deaths on school properties reflects the data as it is reported to NFIRS. One reported fire death 

occurred outside on school property resulting from suicide by fire, with the other reported deaths occurring in a residential 

day care facility.

4 Distribution statistics and per-fire losses are based on 2009-2011 NFIRS 5.0 data.

5 The annual average estimate for school building fire deaths rounded to zero, as national fire death estimates are rounded 

to the nearest five deaths. This estimate reflects the data as it is reported to NFIRS. For the years studied, there were four 

reported fire deaths occurring in a residential day care facility in 2011. No other fire deaths in school buildings were 

reported to NFIRS in 2009 or 2010.

6 Participation in 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 2009 to 2011, 70 percent 

of NFPA’s annual average estimated 1,356,500 fires to which fire departments responded were captured in NFIRS. Thus, 

NFIRS is not representative of all fire incidents in the U.S. and is not a “complete” census of fire incidents. Although 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.

7 In NFIRS, confined fires are defined by Incident Type codes 113-118.
TFRS Volume 14, Issue 14/School Building Fires (2009-2011) Page 15

8 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) and hence, there was no property damage (damage to 

the structure itself) from the flames. There could be, however, property damage as a result of smoke, water and overhaul.

9 The 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 NFIRS data alone. The fire death rate computed from national estimates is (1,000 x 

(0/4,000)) = 0.0 deaths per 1,000 school building fires, and the fire injury rate is (1,000 x (75/4,000)) = 18.8 injuries per 

1,000 school building fires. 

10 USFA, “Nonresidential Building Fires (2009-2011),” Volume 14, Issue 5, June 2013: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/

pdf/statistics/v14i5.pdf.

11 For the purposes of this report, the time of the fire alarm is used as an approximation for the general time the fire 

started. However, in NFIRS, it is the time that the fire was reported to the fire department.

12 Total does not add up to 100 percent due to rounding.

13 The USFA Structure Fire Cause Methodology was used to determine the cause of school building fires: www.usfa.fema.

gov/fireservice/nfirs/tools/fire_cause_category_matrix.shtm. In 27 percent of reported school building fire incidents, 

the cause of the fire was undetermined. The cause percentages presented here are “adjusted” percentages using only those 

incidents for which causal data were provided. This calculation, in effect, distributes the fires for which the cause data are 

unknown in the same proportion as the fires for which the causes are known.

14 G. Scott Burlin, SOS Fires: Youth Intervention Programs, “An Examination of Juvenile Firesetting and the Reasons that 

Kids Set Fires,” January 2007, http://sos.strateja-xl.com/professional-information/Articles/Burlin_final_paper.pdf (accessed 

Nov. 4, 2013).

15 Office of the Washington State Fire Marshal, “Reporting School Fires,” http://www.wsp.wa.gov/fire/docs/prevention/

report_school_fires.pdf (accessed Nov. 4, 2013).

16 Jamie Fry, SOS Fires: Youth Intervention Programs, “Youth Firesetting: Collaboration Between Teachers and Fire 

Service Personnel for Early Identification and Intervention,” http://sos.strateja-xl.com/professional-information/Articles/

Collaboration_between_teachers_and_fire_service.pdf (accessed Nov. 4, 2013).

17 U.S. Department of Justice, “Juvenile Firesetting: A Research Overview,” https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/207606.

pdf (accessed Jan.10, 2014).

18 Office of the Washington State Fire Marshal, “Reporting School Fires,” http://www.wsp.wa.gov/fire/docs/prevention/

report_school_fires.pdf (accessed Nov. 4, 2013).

19 Total does not add up to 100 percent due to rounding.

20 As noted previously, in NFIRS, confined building fires are small fire incidents that are limited in scope, confined to noncombustible containers, rarely result in serious injury or large content losses, and are expected to have no significant accompanying property losses due to flame damage. In NFIRS, confined fires are defined by Incident Type codes 113-118.

21 The term “occupied” implies that the building is operational or in normal use. This includes buildings that are closed or 

unoccupied for a brief period of time, such as businesses that are closed for the weekend.

22 The percentages for the categories of present and operated, present but did not operate, and present but operational status 

unknown do not sum to 73 percent due to rounding.

23 Here, at least 17 percent of nonconfined fires in occupied school buildings had no smoke alarms present — the 17 percent that were known to not have smoke alarms and some portion (or as many as all) of the fires where the smoke alarm 

presence was undetermined.
TFRS Volume 14, Issue 14/School Building Fires (2009-2011) Page 16

24 The term “occupied” implies that the building is operational or in normal use. This includes buildings that are closed or 

unoccupied for a brief period of time, such as businesses that are closed for the weekend.

25 In confined fires, the entry “smoke alarm did not alert occupants” can mean that no smoke alarm was present; the smoke 

alarm was present but did not operate; the smoke alarm was present and operated, but the occupant was already aware of 

the fire; or there were no occupants present at the time of the fire.

26 As confined fires codes are designed to capture fires contained to noncombustible containers, it is not recommended to 

code a fire incident as a small-, low- or no-loss confined fire incident if the AES operated and contained the fire as a result. 

The preferred method is to code the fire as a standard fire incident with fire spread confined to the object of origin and provide the relevant information on AES presence and operation.

27 “Two Teens Arrested For Setting Fire To Farmersville School,” www.dfw.cbslocal.com, Sep. 18, 2013, http://dfw.cbslocal.

com/2013/09/18/two-juveniles-arrested-for-setting-fire-to-farmersville-school/ (accessed Sep. 20, 2013).

28 “Frisco Student Hospitalized After Science Experiment Catches Fire,” www.wfaa.com, Sep. 9, 2013, http://www.wfaa.com/

news/education/Frisco-student-hospitalized-after-science-experiment-catches-fire-223042611.html (accessed Oct. 28, 2013).

29 Tracy Baxter and Nathan Brown, “Jewish Girls’ School Destroyed by Fire,” www.recordonline.com, Sep. 4, 2013, http://

www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130904/NEWS/130909930 (accessed Sep. 20, 2013).