HEATING
The number two most common cause of home fires is Heating. Local fire departments responded to an estimated average of 44,210 fires involving heating equipment per year in 2016-2020, accounting for 13% of all reported home fires during this time. These fires resulted in annual losses of 480 civilian deaths, 1,370 civilian injuries, and more than $1 billion in direct property damage.

HEATING FIRE FACTS
Based on 2016-2020 annual averages:

- Space heaters were the type of heating equipment responsible for the largest shares of losses in home heating equipment fires,
accounting for one-third of the fires, but nearly nine out of ten deaths and four out of five of the injuries in home fires caused by heating
equipment.
- Fires originating in a kitchen or cooking area accounted for the largest share of home heating fires (17%).
- While the larger (non-confined) fires involving fireplaces or chimneys were involved in fewer than one in ten fires caused by heating
equipment (7%), they caused just over one-fifth of the direct property damage (22%).
- Nearly half of the heating equipment fires (46%) occurred in the three-month period from December through February.

Give your heater some safe space. Don't place anything on, in front of, or near a heater. Check out the attached PDFs below for tips on heater fire safety.