Cooking - The Leading Cause of U.S. Home Fires

By Shaviv Ben Neriah

People feel safe when they are at home, yet more than one-quarter of reported fires occurred in home environments during 2013-2017. Even worse, four of every five fire deaths and three-quarters of all reported fire injuries were caused by home structure fires.

During this five-year period, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated average of 354,400 home structure fires per year. These fires caused an annual average of 2,620 civilian deaths; 11,220 civilian fire injuries; and $6.9 billion in direct property damage.

69% percent of reported home fires in 2013-2017 were in one- or two-family homes, including manufactured homes. These fires caused 85% of home fire deaths, 65% of home fire injuries, and 79% of the direct property damage from home fires.

Most home fires and fire casualties result from five causes: cooking, heating, electrical distribution and lighting equipment, intentional fire setting, and smoking materials. Over the five-year period of 2013–2017 as a whole, cooking was the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries, while smoking was the leading cause of home fire deaths.

This video demonstrates how quickly kitchen fires can spread. For more information on these statistics, read NFPA’s Home Cooking Fires research report and Structure Fires in Residential Board and Care Facilities.

If we’d like to address the residential kitchen fire issue – UL published UL 300A, which is the residential version of the UL 300 we all know – the commercial kitchen suppression system.

Kitchen Fire Stop is one of the few systems you may consider. These systems are standalone and need only power. They will turn off the stove power when the suppression goes off. Here’s where these systems are most useful:

• Fire halls – it is not a surprise. Fire halls usually have a kitchen with a stove.
• Assisted living facilities
• Group homes
• University dorms
• Assembly places, like churches and synagogues
• Nursing homes
• Childcare homes
• Vacation homes/hotel suites
• Every commercial facility with a residential stove/cooktop

These systems are an affordable option, stand alone, and offer easy maintenance. They will fit a wall-mounted/under the cabinet range hood and OTR microwaves. Both NFPA 101 and IBC/IFC/IMC call for UL 300A systems for a list of different facilities/occupancies.

About the Author:
Shaviv Ben Neriah is the CEO of More Fire Protection, manufacturer of Kitchen Fire Stop.