Common Causes of House Fires

House fires can wreak havoc on your life, causing extensive damage to your home and in the worst cases, they may result in serious injuries or even fatalities to loved ones. Unfortunately, house fires occur frequently – there were approximately 1.5 million fires in the United States in 2022. While most fires start unexpectedly and spiral out of control within moments, their causes are typically predictable. There are several common issues which typically result in house fires. By knowing the causes and the right safety precautions, you can prevent many fires from occurring in the first place.

Cooking Fires

Cooking-related incidents are by far the most common cause of house fires, accounting for 47.7% of all fires at residential properties. While cooking is an activity that brings families together and provides the source of many cherished memories, it also creates a variety of opportunities for fires to start, including:

• The use of multiple appliances at once, which can potentially overload circuits and create a fire hazard
• Unattended pots left on burners for too long, which can start a cooking fire that escalates in a matter of minutes
• The proximity of flammable objects to cooking areas which can easily catch on fire if they come into contact with a hot surface or flame
• Overheated oils which can ignite and burst into flames at high temperatures

The following tips will help you prevent cooking fires in your home:

• Never leave your stove unattended while you’re cooking
• Keep pot handles rotated towards the back of the stove to reduce the chances of accidentally knocking them over
• Clean up your cooking area frequently to prevent combustible materials and other clutter from coming into contact with hot surfaces or open flames
• Keep small children and pets away from the stove while you’re cooking
• Store a fire extinguisher in an easily accessible location in the kitchen, and make sure everyone in your family knows how to use it

Keep the following safety tips in mind in the event that a fire breaks out in your kitchen:

• Always keep a lid nearby whenever you’re cooking on the stove so that you can use it to cover a pan and smother the flames if a grease fire breaks out. After covering the pan, turn off the stove and leave the pan covered until it’s completely cool.
• If an oven fire breaks out, turn off the heat and keep the oven door closed.
• Alert anyone in the house that a fire has started right away so that they can either help extinguish the fire or evacuate.
• If you’re unable to put the fire out yourself, leave the house at once. Close the door behind you to help contain the fire.
• Call 9-1-1 immediately after evacuating and request assistance from the fire department.

Fires from Heating Equipment

Heating equipment is the second largest cause of house fires. Due to the nature of these devices, house fires from heating equipment typically occur during the winter when you need additional help staying warm in cold temperatures.

Portable heaters are the most common cause of heating equipment fires, and they typically occur when heaters are placed too close to walls, furniture, clothes, curtains or other flammable materials. Over time, these items can experience a gradual buildup of heat when they’re placed too close to space heaters, causing them to ignite.

While the dangers of portable heaters tend to garner the most attention for fires in this category, fireplaces can also be a hazard if chimneys aren’t cleaned each year. When chimney maintenance is neglected, you run the risk of a chimney fire.

To prevent fires from heating equipment:

• Make sure portable heaters are always at least three feet away from any flammable materials
• Only use heaters that turn off automatically when they overheat or tip over
• Never leave a space heater running unattended, and make sure to turn them off before going to bed
• Have your chimney professionally cleaned and inspected once a year
• Never use flammable liquids to start a fire in your fireplace, and make sure ashes are completely cool before disposing of them

Electrical Fires

The National Fire Protection Association estimates that an electrical fire occurs in homes approximately every 10 minutes. While older homes are at the greatest risk for electrical fires, just about any house can experience an electrical malfunction that causes a fire.

Electrical fires can occur for a variety of reasons, including:

• Faulty wiring
• Overloaded circuits
• Malfunctioning appliances

There are several steps you can take to help prevent electrical fires in your home:

• Have your home’s electrical system inspected by a licensed electrician once a year to identify any potential fire hazards as they first develop
• Always use a licensed electrician to perform any electrical work at your home
• Be conscious of how many devices you plug into a single outlet or power stirp to prevent overloading a circuit
• Avoid daisy-chaining extension cords or power strips to prevent overloading circuits
• Unplug appliances when they’re not in use
• Watch for signs of faulty wiring such as flickering lights, blown fuses, a burning odor or discoloration around outlets
• Avoid using frayed or damaged appliance or extension cords
• Install whole house surge protection devices and point-of-use surge protection devices to avoid damage to electronics equipment and appliances that can cause a fire in the event of a power surge

Smoking

Smoking only accounts for a small percentage of house fires, but this habit presents significant fire hazards when done indoors. Cigarettes, cigars, pipes and other smoking devices contain embers that can easily ignite when they land on flammable items. In addition, fires often occur when people fall asleep with a lit cigarette in their hand.

The following best practices will help you avoid smoking fires:

• Always smoke outside
• Never leave lit smoking materials unattended
• If you smoke indoors, don’t lounge or relax on furniture while smoking since this increases the risk of falling asleep
• Never smoke in bed, as this creates the greatest chance of falling asleep with a lit cigarette
• Refrain from smoking if you feel drowsy or are under the influence of alcohol
• Use ashtrays and make sure cigarettes are completely put out before you dispose of them

Candles

Candles are great. They enhance the ambiance of a room, and they provide a more festive atmosphere during birthday celebrations. But they can also be a source of house fires. Candle fires often occur when they are placed too close to flammable objects or are left unattended while burning.

To prevent candle fires:

• Never leave burning candles unattended
• Always place candles on solid, level surfaces that won’t tip over
• Always extinguish candles before leaving the room or going to sleep
• Keep candles at least one foot away from combustible items
• Keep lit candles out of reach of pets or young children
• Don’t allow candles to burn down to the bottom of their container