Washington, DC — The Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) United States Fire Administration (USFA)
issued a special report today examining the characteristics of smoking-related fires in residential buildings. The report, Smoking-Related Fires in Residential Buildings (PDF) , was developed by USFA's National Fire Data Center.
While smoking-related fires account for 2 percent of all residential building fires, they are the leading cause of fire deaths, accounting for 17 percent of fire deaths in residential buildings. In addition, cigarettes are, by far, the leading type of smoking material involved in residential smoking fires and account for 87 percent of these fires.
The report is part of the Topical Fire Report Series and is based on 2006 to 2008 data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). According to the report, an estimated 9,000 smoking-related fires in residential buildings occur annually in the United States, resulting in an estimated average of 450 deaths, 1,025 injuries, and $303 million in property loss.