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# Nonresidential Building Fire Dollar-Loss Causes (2012‑2021)

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## Main content

##### In this section

                - Reports
                - Death & Injury Risk
                - Residential Fires
                - Nonresidential Fires                   - Causes
                  - Dollar loss
                  - Cooking
                  - Electrical Malfunction
                  - Exposure
                  - Intentional
                  - Other Equipment
                  - Unintentional / Careless
                - Outside & Vehicle Fires
                - Firefighter Fatalities
                - Fire Department Registry
                - State Statistics
                - Data Sets

## National estimates

The 2021 national estimates for the leading causes of nonresidential building fire dollar loss show that there were:
              - $671,300,000 loss from other equipment fires.
              - $542,100,000 loss from other unintentional, careless fires.
              - $532,400,000 loss from exposure fires.
              - $501,800,000 loss from electrical malfunction fires

## Overall trends

Overall trends in the leading causes of fire dollar loss for the 10-year period of 2012 to 2021 show the following:
              - Other unintentional, careless fires as the leading cause of nonresidential building fire dollar loss in 9 years out of the 10-year period.
              -  A 132% increase in other equipment fire dollar loss. A $170,000,000 Earlimart, California, fire reported in a manufacturing property contributed to the 2021 dollar-loss peak.
              - A 5% increase in nonresidential other unintentionally or carelessly set fire dollar loss.
              - A 261% increase in exposure fire dollar loss.A $67,800,000 reported Hoboken, New Jersey, manufacturing fire contributed to the 2021 dollar-loss peak.
              - A 26% increase in nonresidential electrical malfunction fire dollar loss.*
              - A $26,465,000 San Francisco, California, building supply warehouse fire with several exposures and a $17,000,000 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, fire reported in a mercantile or business property contributed to the increase in intentional fire dollar loss in 2020.

*The overall constant dollar-loss trends take inflation into account by adjusting each year's dollar loss to its equivalent 2021 value.

### Leading causes of nonresidential building fire dollar-loss (2012-2021)

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Fire estimate summaries present basic data on the size and status of the fire problem in the U.S. as depicted through data reported to the U.S. Fire Administration's (USFA's) National Fire Incident Reporting System from incidents reported by local response agencies. Each Fire Estimate Summary addresses the size of the specific fire or fire-related issue and highlights important trends in the data.

Fire estimate summaries are based on the USFA's National Estimates Methodology for Building Fires and Losses PDF. The USFA is committed to providing the best and most current information on the U.S. fire problem and continually examines data received from participating fire departments and the analytical methods used to fulfill this goal. Because of this commitment, data collection strategies and methodological changes are possible and do occur. Previous estimates on specific issues (or similar issues) may have used different methodologies or data definitions and, therefore, may not be directly comparable to current estimates.

Page last reviewed: April 28, 2022

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