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.
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.
Building Construction 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-combustible Typically 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 (Note: only ON, MB, SK, AB, BC, and the CAF reported this data in 2014). Ignition source Examples Percentage Cooking equipment stoves, hot plates, BBQs, deep fryers 33% Smoker's material and open flame cigarettes, lighters, matches, candles, lanterns, blow torches 24% Heating equipment central heating, space heaters, wood stoves, fireplaces 14% Electrical distribution equipment permanent electric wiring, extension cords, batteries 11% Appliances and household equipment televisions, household appliances 7% Exposure fire spread from other buildings or outdoors 7% Other electrical equipment power tools, lamps, computers 4% No igniting object lightning 1%
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.
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.
+ Residential building fire causes, 2017-2019 (Note: Fires with a cause determined only.) Cause Examples Percentage Cooking stoves, ovens, cooking fires 50.9% Heating furnaces, boilers, water heaters, portable heaters, chimneys 9.3% Other Unintentional, Careless product misuse, discarded materials, heat source too close to combustibles 7.4% Electrical Malfunction electrical wiring, lighting fixtures 6.7% Intentional deliberately set fires 4.3% Open Flame candles, matches, lighters, embers 4.3% Other Heat fireworks, heat/sparks from friction 3.4% Appliances most electronic and electrical appliances 3.0% Equipment Misoperation, Failure equipment malfunction or operation deficiency 2.3% Smoking cigarettes and other smoking materials 2.0% Exposure heat spread from another hostile fire 1.8% Natural spontaneous ignition, chemicals, storms 1.7% Other Equipment computer, telephone, special or unspecified equipment 1.3% Cause under investigation cause still undetermined 1.3% Playing with Heat Source children or others playing with fire 0.4%
See also Fire extinguisher Firefighting Fire prevention Fire safety
References
External links
National Fire Protection Association (US) Haung, Kai. 2009. Population and Building Factors That Impact Residential Fire Rates in Large U.S. Cities. Applied Research Project. Texas State University. http://ecommons.txstate.edu/arp/287/