Thanksgiving Stats
What’s on the menu this holiday season? Safety!
The kitchen is the heart of a home. It’s where your family gathers to cook favorite recipes, share warm meals, and reconnect with each other. But, it’s also the location where two-thirds of all home fires start. For each year from 2014 to 2016, an estimated 2,400 residential building fires were reported to fire departments in the U.S. on Thanksgiving Day and caused an estimated five deaths, 25 injuries and $19 million in property loss. Almost half (48 percent) of Thanksgiving Day fires in residential buildings occurred from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., when many people were most likely preparing Thanksgiving dinner. Fires then declined throughout the evening. This stands in contrast to the rest of the year when residential building fires peaked during “normal” dinner time hours of 5-8 p.m.
So, what causes most Thanksgiving Day fires in residential buildings?
Cooking fires in residential buildings occurred more often on Thanksgiving Day than any other day of the year. Cooking was, by far, the leading cause of all Thanksgiving Day fires in residential buildings at 77 percent. By comparison, cooking was the cause of 50 percent of residential building fires that occurred on all days of the year other than Thanksgiving.
Source: NFIRS Data Snapshot