NFIRS Data Snapshot May 2022

Recreational Vehicle Fires 

(2018-2020)

Each year, from 2018 to 2020, an estimated average of 4,200 recreational vehicle (RV) fires were reported to fire 

departments within the U.S.1 Annually, these fires resulted in an estimated average of 15 civilian deaths, 125 civilian 

injuries and $60,300,000 in loss.2

The average number of fatalities per 1,000 

RV fires reported to the National Fire Incident 

Reporting System (NFIRS) from 2018 to 2020 

was 3.9. During the same time period, the 

number of injuries per 1,000 fires was 16.3. 

Additionally, the amount of dollar loss per RV 

fire was $15,350.3

Loss measures for recreational vehicle fires 

(3-year average, 2018-2020)

Loss measure RV fires

Average loss:

Fatalities/1,000 fires 3.9

Injuries/1,000 fires 16.3

Dollar loss/fire $15,350

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Recreational vehicle fires, self-propelled vs. not self-propelled (2018-2020)

Not self-propelled

84.6%

Self-propelled

15.4%

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Of the 4,200 RV fires, 85% 

were not self-propelled, and 

the remaining 15% were selfpropelled. 

RV fires most frequently 

occurred during the 

afternoon, peaking from 

2 to 3 p.m. (7%). 

RV fires occurred least 

often in the morning 

hours from 3 to 4 a.m. 

(2%) and from 6 to 7 a.m. 

(2%).

Recreational vehicle fires by time of alarm (2018-2020)

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

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.

3.3

2.6 2.3 2.4 2.2 2.6 2.8 3.3

4.1

5.7 5.5

6.2 6.6 6.4 6.2 6.3

5.4 5.2

4.4 4.4 4.2

3.4

2.2 2.3

Time of alarm

Percent

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

National Fire Data Center

16825 S. Seton Ave.

Emmitsburg, MD 21727

usfa.fema.gov
Recreational vehicle fires by day of week (2018-2020)

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

14.0

16.0

18.0

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

14.4 14.2 14.1 14.2 14.6

15.4

13.1

Day of week

Percent

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

RV fires occurred most 

frequently on Fridays 

(15%) and Saturdays 

(15%). This coincides with 

the weekend and time 

off from work when RVs 

are often used.

RV fires peaked in July 

at 11% and occurred 

most often during 

the months of May 

t hro ug h A ug us t , 

accounting for 38% 

of the fires. It is

possible this slight

peak may be due to

elevated outdoor

temperatures or

increased vehicle use,

as many individuals

and families take

vacations during

these months.

Recreational vehicle fires by month (2018-2020)

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

7.1 7.2

7.9

9.0 9.0

11.0

9.4

8.3

7.6 7.4 7.8 8.3

Month

Percent

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

Recreational vehicle fire cause (2018-2020) Fire cause

0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 35.0 40.0

Unknown

Cause undetermined after investigation

Cause under investigation

Act of nature

Failure of equipment or heat source

Unintentional

Intentional

Exposure 5.7

5.7

4.2

4.2

36.1

36.2

14.7

14.7

0.3

0.3

13.3

13.4

25.5

25.6

0.2

Unknowns apportioned

Percent reported

Percent

Source: NFIRS 5.0. 

Note: For the unknowns apportioned distribution, the total does not add up to 100% due to rounding.
In 36% of the RV fires, the cause of ignition was unintentional actions, followed by failure of equipment or heat source 

(15%). Exposures and intentional actions caused an additional 6% and 4% of the RV fires, respectively, while acts of 

nature resulted in less than 1% of the fires. The cause of ignition was undetermined after the investigation in 26% of 

the RV fires and was still under investigation in 13% of the fires.

Leading areas of fire origin in recreational vehicle fires (2018-2020)

Areas of fire origin Percent

(unknowns apportioned)

Engine area, running gear, wheel area 26.2

Other vehicle area 15.7

Operator, passenger area of vehicle 9.1

Cooking area 7.7

Vehicle exterior 6.9

Other area of fire origin 4.1

Cargo, trunk area 3.9

Source: NFIRS 5.0.

RV fires most often started in engine, running gear and wheel areas (26%), followed by other miscellaneous vehicle 

areas (16%) and operator/passenger areas (9%). Smaller but not minor percentages of fires started in cooking areas 

(8%), vehicle exterior areas (7%), other areas of fire origin (4%) and cargo/trunk areas (4%). 

For RV fire and life safety practices, visit usfa.fema.gov.

For additional fire statistics, visit usfa.fema.gov and search statistics.

Sources:	NFIRS Public Data Release files from 2018 through 2020 and the National Fire Protection Association.

Notes:	 1.	RV fires are defined by NFIRS Incident Type Codes 136 and 137. These fires include self-propelled motor homes or RVs and campers or RVs that are not

self-propelled (includes trailers). Aid Types 3 (mutual aid given) and 4 (automatic aid given) were excluded to avoid counting a single incident more than once.

	 2.	The computation of the estimate for RV fire dollar loss excludes a $3 billion loss from a naval ship fire in California in 2020.

	 3.	Average loss for fatalities and injuries is computed per 1,000 fires. Average dollar loss is computed per fire and rounded to the nearest $10. The 2018 and

2019 dollar-loss values were adjusted to 2020 dollars. The average loss measures computed from the NFIRS data alone in the table differ from the average

loss measures computed from national estimates. The fire death rate computed from national estimates is (1,000 x (15/4,200)) = 3.6 deaths per 1,000 RV fires,

and the fire injury rate is (1,000 x (125/4,200)) = 29.8 injuries per 1,000 RV fires.