5,800
Medical facility fires per year
Estimated annual fires reported to U.S. fire departments from 2014 through 2016.
U.S. Fire Administration, 2014-2016 ↗Reference data
Healthcare facility fire safety statistics
A source-led reference for writers, healthcare facility teams, and anyone reporting on fire risk in care environments.
Last updated November 3, 2026. Each statistic below names its reporting period because national fire-incident datasets are published on different schedules.
Key statistics
What the data shows
These figures describe reported U.S. incidents, not a forecast or a measure of any individual facility. They help put the scale and operating context of healthcare fire safety work into view.
5 / 150 / $56M
Annual fire losses
The same 2014-2016 estimate attributes 5 deaths, 150 injuries, and $56 million in property loss per year to medical facility fires.
U.S. Fire Administration, 2014-2016 ↗71.3%
Linked to cooking
Cooking was the leading cause category for medical facility fires in the 2014-2016 federal snapshot.
U.S. Fire Administration, 2014-2016 ↗81.4%
Limited to the object of origin
Most medical facility fires in the 2014-2016 snapshot were limited to the object where the fire began.
U.S. Fire Administration, 2014-2016 ↗48.6%
Occurred in nursing homes
Nearly half of medical facility fires in the 2014-2016 snapshot were reported in nursing homes.
U.S. Fire Administration, 2014-2016 ↗1,100
Hospital fires per year
Estimated annual hospital fires reported to U.S. fire departments from 2012 through 2014.
U.S. Fire Administration, 2012-2014 ↗60.4%
Confined cooking-vessel fires
Cooking-vessel fires made up the largest share of hospital fires in the 2012-2014 snapshot.
U.S. Fire Administration, 2012-2014 ↗60%
Occurred from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Hospital fires in the 2012-2014 snapshot were most frequent during daytime operating hours.
U.S. Fire Administration, 2012-2014 ↗6,100
U.S. hospitals
The American Hospital Association reports 6,100 U.S. hospitals, with 907,216 staffed beds, using fiscal-year 2024 survey data.
American Hospital Association, FY 2024 ↗Reading the figures
Why routine readiness still matters
The federal snapshots show that many reported incidents are contained early, but their scale also points to the importance of daily conditions. Cooking areas, equipment, housekeeping, fire protection features, clear egress, and records all have a role in keeping a small event from becoming a larger operational problem.
For a facility, the most useful question is not whether a national average predicts its next incident. It is whether its own routines make hazards visible, assign follow-up, and document completion before a survey or emergency exposes a gap.
Explore readiness support →Methodology and sources
How to use this page
This page brings together published U.S. fire-incident snapshots and a current hospital-footprint reference. Statistics are kept separate by source period, and no older figure is presented as a current annual total. The U.S. Fire Administration data draw on the National Fire Incident Reporting System and national estimates; its reports explain the definitions, rounding, and methods used.
- U.S. Fire Administration: Medical Facility Fires (2014-2016), published October 2016.
- U.S. Fire Administration: Hospital Fires (2012-2014), published October 2016.
- American Hospital Association: Fast Facts on U.S. Hospitals, 2026, using fiscal-year 2024 survey data, updated February 2026.
Cite this page
HC-Specialist-LLC. “Healthcare Facility Fire Safety Statistics.” Updated November 3, 2026. https://hc-services-llc.com/healthcare-facility-fire-safety-statistics
For a specific figure, link directly to its source and use the statistic’s stable section link above when helpful.