Structure fire

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A structure fire in Massueville, Canada Fire inside an abandoned convent in Massueville, Quebec, Canada.jpg
A structure fire in Massueville, Canada

A structure fire is a fire involving the structural components of various types of residential, commercial or industrial buildings, such as barn fires. Residential buildings range from single-family detached homes and townhouses to apartments and tower blocks, or various commercial buildings ranging from offices to shopping malls. This is in contrast to "room and contents" fires, chimney fires, vehicle fires, wildfires or other outdoor fires.

Contents

Structure fires typically have a similar response from the fire department that include engines, ladder trucks, rescue squads, chief officers, and an EMS unit, each of which will have specific initial assignments. The actual response and assignments will vary between fire departments.

It is not unusual for some fire departments to have a predetermined mobilization plan for when a fire incident is reported in certain structures in their area. This plan may include mobilizing the nearest aerial firefighting vehicle to a tower block, or a foam-carrying vehicle to structures known to contain certain hazardous chemicals.

Types (United States)

In the United States, according to NFPA, structures are divided into five construction types based on the severity of the fire hazard:

Type I: Fire Resistive Typically used in high-rises. The material comprising the structure is either inherently able to withstand significant exposure to fire (concrete), or in which a fire resistive covering is applied to steel structural members.
Type II: Non-combustibleTypically used in strip shopping center malls. Roofs are constructed out of steel rafters.
Type III: Ordinary construction Brick and mortar walls, wood frame floors. City rowhouses are where this type of construction is most often found.
Type IV: Heavy timber Often used in churches or other community-based buildings.
Type V: Wood frame Typically used in recent construction of single-family dwellings, townhouses, garden apartments with four floors or less.

Causes of house fires

Canada

Information from Canada's National Fire Information Database shows these ignition sources for residential fires in 2014.

Residential fire sources of ignition, 6 jurisdictions, 2014 [1]
Ignition sourceExamplesPercentage
Cooking equipmentstoves, hot plates, BBQs, deep fryers33%
Smoker's material and open flamecigarettes, lighters, matches, candles, lanterns, blow torches24%
Heating equipmentcentral heating, space heaters, wood stoves, fireplaces14%
Electrical distribution equipmentpermanent electric wiring, extension cords, batteries11%
Appliances and household equipmenttelevisions, household appliances7%
Exposurefire spread from other buildings or outdoors7%
Other electrical equipmentpower tools, lamps, computers4%
No igniting objectlightning1%

A 2023 update from Statistics Canada confirmed that cooking equipment and smoker's material continued to be the top causes of residential fires, at 32% and 25% of total incidents respectively. [2]

United States

Data from the U.S. Fire Administration's National Fire Incident Reporting System shows that cooking has consistently been the leading cause of residential building fires. [3]

Residential building fire causes, 2017-2019 [4] [5]
CauseExamplesPercentage
Cookingstoves, ovens, cooking fires50.9%
Heatingfurnaces, boilers, water heaters, portable heaters, chimneys9.3%
Other Unintentional, Carelessproduct misuse, discarded materials, heat source too close to combustibles7.4%
Electrical Malfunctionelectrical wiring, lighting fixtures6.7%
Intentional deliberately set fires 4.3%
Open Flamecandles, matches, lighters, embers4.3%
Other Heatfireworks, heat/sparks from friction3.4%
Appliancesmost electronic and electrical appliances3.0%
Equipment Misoperation, Failureequipment malfunction or operation deficiency2.3%
Smokingcigarettes and other smoking materials2.0%
Exposureheat spread from another hostile fire1.8%
Naturalspontaneous ignition, chemicals, storms1.7%
Other Equipmentcomputer, telephone, special or unspecified equipment1.3%
Cause under investigationcause still undetermined1.3%
Playing with Heat Sourcechildren or others playing with fire0.4%

See also

References

  1. ↑ Statistics Canada (Sep 2017). Fire statistics in Canada, Selected Observations from the National Fire Information Database 2005 to 2014 (PDF) (Report). Table D-8, p. 48. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 Mar 2024. Retrieved 1 Jan 2025.(Note: only ON, MB, SK, AB, BC, and the CAF reported this data in 2014).
  2. ↑ Statistics Canada (8 June 2023). "The Daily: Fire incidents increase during the pandemic". Chart 2. Retrieved 1 Jan 2025.
  3. ↑ "Residential Building Fire Causes (2013-2022)". U.S. Fire Administration. Retrieved 31 Dec 2024.
  4. ↑ National Fire Data Center (May 2021). "Residential Building Fires (2017-2019)" (PDF). U.S. Fire Administration. p. 6. Retrieved 31 Dec 2024.(Note: Fires with a cause determined only.)
  5. ↑ "Structure Fire Cause Matrix". U.S. Fire Administration. Retrieved 31 Dec 2024.
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