Time and time again, statistics continue to show that cooking is the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries. Smoking tends to be the leading cause of home fire deaths. During 2014-2018, United States fire departments responded to an estimated average of 353,100 home structure fires per year. Those fires caused on average 2,620 civilian deaths, 11,030 civilian fire injuries, and $7.2 billion in direct property damage.