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LARGE LOSS FIRES IN THE UNITED STATES 2011

Stephen G. Badger

November 2012

National Fire Protection Association

Fire Analysis and Research Division

LARGE LOSS FIRES IN THE UNITED STATES 2011

Stephen G. Badger

November 2012

National Fire Protection Association

Fire Analysis and Research Division

Acknowledgements

NFPA would like to thank the U.S. Fire Service for its contributions of data, without which this report would not be possible. In some cases, the fire department, forestry officials, or government officials were unable to contribute complete details to NFPA because legal action is pending or ongoing, the incident was of a sensitive nature, or the size of the situation was overwhelming. The author also wishes to thank Norma Candeloro and the staff of the Fire Analysis Department for providing the support this study requires.

For more information about the National Fire Protection Association, visit www.nfpa.org or call 617-770-3000. To learn more about the One-Stop Data Shop go to www.nfpa.org/osds or call 617-984-7443.

Copies of this analysis are available from:

National Fire Protection Association One-Stop Data Shop

1 Batterymarch Park Quincy, MA 02169-7471 www.nfpa.org

e-mail: osds@nfpa.org phone: 617-984-7443

NFPA No. LLS10

Copyright © 2012, National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA

Introduction

The summer of 2011 was the hottest summer on record in Texas, which was in the midst of a year-long drought. It was also the state’s driest summer since 1895.

During the Texas fire season, which lasted from November 15, 2010, to October 31, 2011, the state experienced more than 30,000 wildfires that burned almost 4 million acres (1.6 hectares), more than in any previous year, and destroyed 2,966 homes, 1,639 of them in a single day. The fires also destroyed 2,411 other structures. From January 1 to October 31, alone, Texas firefighters fought more than 14,000 of these wildfires, which burned almost 3.4 million acres (1.4 hectares).

With so many fires and such great destruction, complete information or a tabulation of total losses is not available for the 2011 Texas wildfires. However, we do know that one of them, the Bastrop County Complex wildfire, was the largest of the large-loss fires of 2011.

The Bastrop County Complex wildfire broke out at about 2:20 p.m. on September 4 when power lines shorted out during high winds and sparks ignited dried grass and vegetation. The temperature that day was 98oF (37oC), winds were in excess of 45 miles (72 kilometers) per hour, and the relative humidity was 12 percent. By the time it was extinguished, it had burned 34,068 acres (12,787 hectares), destroyed 1,645 homes, and killed two people. This is the sixth time in the last 10 years that the largest-dollar-loss fire in the United States has been a wildfire.

NFPA reports annually on large-loss fires and explosions that occurred in the United States the year before. Such fires and explosions are defined as any event that results in property damage of at least $10 million. Last year, according to the “Fire Loss in the United States During 2011” report that appeared in the September/October issue of NFPA Journal, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 1,389,500 structure and non-structure fires, which caused an estimated loss of $11.7 billion. Many of these fires were small or resulted in little or no reported property damage. However, 22 of them resulted in losses of $10 million or more each, for a total of roughly $799 million in direct property losses. Although these fires accounted for only 0.002 percent of the estimated number of fires in 2011, they accounted for 6.9 percent of the total estimated dollar loss.

The number of large-loss fires annually has ranged from 16 to 45 over the past 10 years, with an average of approximately 24 fires per year. When adjusted for inflation to 2002 dollars, the number of fires in 2011 that could be categorized as large-loss fires—that is, fires resulting in a loss of $10 million in 2002 dollars—drops to 13, with an adjusted loss of $562 million in 2002 dollars.

In 2011, 11 fires resulted in more than $20 million each in property damage. These costliest 11 fires, which include eight structure fires, two wildfires, and one outside fire with loss, resulted in a combined property loss of $672.5 million, which represents 82.6 percent of the total loss in large-loss fires and 5.8 percent of the total fire losses in the United States for 2011. The Bastrop County Complex fire alone resulted in losses of $400 million.

Large-Loss Fires-2011, 11/12

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NFPA, Fire Analysis and Research, Quincy, MA

Where fires occurred

Seventeen of the 22 large-loss fires last year occurred in structures, resulting in a total property loss of $293.9 million. Five non-structure fires—a yacht fire, a fire outside of structures with a loss, and three wildfires—resulted in losses of $10 million, $40 million, and $455 million, respectively.

The Bastrop County Complex fire alone was responsible for 50 percent of the total loss in largeloss fires last year. During the past 10 years, wildfires have accounted for 30, or 13 percent, of the 236 large-loss fires, resulting in a total estimated loss of $6.5 billion, or 53 percent of the reported losses. Of those 30 fires, nine resulted in a loss of more than $100 million and two were responsible for a loss of more than $1 billion. In eight of the last 10 years, at least one wildfire resulted in more than $20 million in direct losses.

Of the 17 large-loss structure fires, seven occurred in manufacturing properties. These included a calcium carbide manufacturing plant, a fertilizer manufacturing plant, an adhesives manufacturing plant, a paper coating plant, a vehicle parts assembly plant, a food processing plant, and a chemical manufacturing plant. These seven fires resulted in total losses of $130.5 million.

Four other large-loss fires occurred in store and office properties. One fire in a craft and hobby store resulted in a loss of $15 million, and three office fires, including one in a medical office and treatment building, resulted in a combined loss of $50 million.

Three fires occurred in industrial properties—a power generation plant, an optical laboratory, and an animal laboratory and research building—resulted in a combined loss of $43.1 million. Two fires in storage properties—a fruit cold storage and a metal products warehouse—caused a combined loss of $45.3 million. And one fire in a public assembly property—a church— resulted in a loss of $10 million.

Information on the cause of the fire was reported for only 8 of the 17 structure fires. Three fires, all in store or office properties, were deliberately set and resulted in a loss of $550 million, or 6.9 percent of large-loss structure fires of 2011. Two fires were the result of chemical reactions, one involving the use of a torch for roof work and one involving washing parts using flammable liquids, while another resulted when combustibles were placed too close to a recessed light fixture. The cause of only two of the six non-structure fires was reported. One resulted from an electrical short and the other from the spontaneous heating of agricultural products.

The operating status of the structure was reported for 16 of the structure fires. In 11 cases, the facility was in full operation. In four, the structures were closed. And in one, only security personnel were present. Five of the fires in structures broke out between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. and resulted in a combined loss of $63 million.

Large-Loss Fires-2011, 11/12

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NFPA, Fire Analysis and Research, Quincy, MA

Detection and suppression systems

Information about detection equipment was reported for 15 of the 17 large-loss structure fires. Seven occurred in properties that had no automatic detection equipment, and the damage in these properties totaled $115.8 million. Of the other eight structures, two had complete coverage smoke alarms, one had complete-coverage heat detection and smoke alarms, and five had detection systems of unreported type and coverage. Five of the eight systems operated effectively, while the operation or effectiveness of the other three was not reported.

Information about automatic suppression equipment was reported for all 17 structure fires. Seven of the structures had no suppression equipment and sustained a combined loss of $119.4 million. Of the remaining 10, nine had wet-pipe sprinklers, three of which provided complete coverage and three of which provided partial coverage. The coverage of the other three was not reported. The tenth structure had a dry-powder system that provided local coverage.

Five of the 10 suppression systems operated, and three did not. Whether the other two operated was not reported. Of the systems that operated, one was not effective, and no reason for the failure was reported. Another was not in the area of ignition and was overwhelmed by the spreading fire. The third was overwhelmed by the volume of fire, the fourth was not adequate for the fire load, and the fifth system failed for reasons not given after about five minutes of operation. Of the three systems that failed to operate, two were not in the area of the fire. In the third, the fire was too small to activate the system, since it was confined to a large generator.

Complete information on both detection and suppression equipment was reported for 15 of the 17 large-loss structure fires. Both types of systems were present in eight structures. Two structures had only suppression equipment, but it is unclear if they operated. Five, or 29.4 percent, of the structures had neither a detection nor a suppression system. Property loss in these five fires came to more than $73 million.

What we can learn

There were five more large-loss fires in 2011 than there were in 2010, and associated property losses increased by more than $147.2 million, or 22.6 percent. In seven of the past 10 years, at least one fire has resulted in a loss of more than $100 million, and in at least two years, one fire resulted in a loss of more than $1 billion. Both of these fires were wildfires.

Adhering to the fire protection principles reflected in NFPA’s codes and standards is essential if we are to reduce the occurrence of large-loss fires and explosions in the United States. Proper construction, proper use of equipment, and proper procedures in chemical processes, storage, and housekeeping will make fires less likely to occur and help limit fire spread should a fire occur, while proper design, maintenance, and operation of fire protection systems and features can keep a fire that does occur from becoming a large-loss fire.

Large-Loss Fires-2011, 11/12

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NFPA, Fire Analysis and Research, Quincy, MA

Where we get our data

NFPA identifies potential large-loss incidents by reviewing national and local news media, including fire service publications. A clipping service reads all U.S. daily newspapers and notifies

NFPA’s Fire Analysis and Research Division of major large-loss fires. NFPA’s annual survey of the U.S. fire experience is an additional data source, although not the principal one.

Once a fire has been identified, we request information about it from the fire department or agency having jurisdiction. We also contact federal agencies that have participated in investigations, state fire marshals’ offices, and military sources. The diversity and redundancy of these data sources enable NFPA to collect the most complete data available on large-loss fires.

About the author

Stephen G. Badger is a fire data assistant in NFPA’s Fire Analysis and Research Division and is a retired firefighter from the Quincy, Massachusetts, Fire Department.

Large-Loss Fires-2011, 11/12

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NFPA, Fire Analysis and Research, Quincy, MA

Table 1.

Large-Loss Fires that Caused $10 Million or more in Property Damage, 2002-2011

 

 

 

Number of Fires

 

Direct Property Damage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Causing $10 million or

 

(in Millions)

 

Year

Number of Fires

 

more in 2002 Dollars

 

As Reported

In 2002 Dollars

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2002

25

25

$562

$562

 

2003

21

17

$2,623

$2,583

 

2004

16

10

$337

$276

 

2005

16

8

$217

$137

 

2006

16

14

$380

$359

 

2007

45

38

$3,393

$3,321

 

2008

34

25

$2,322

$2,230

 

2009

24

20

$940

$899

 

2010

17

11

$652

$590

 

2011

22

13

$799

$562

 

Note: Number of fires and unadjusted loss are based on data from studies that appeared in previous annual large-loss studies. Some of the information may differ from previously published material because material was updated after publication.

Note: Adjustment for inflation is based on the Consumer Price Index using 2002 as a base year. Note that adjustment for inflation not only reduces the the total dollar loss for each year but also reduces the number of fires when adjusted losses large enough to qualify as large-loss fires.

Source: NFPA’s Fire Incident Data Organization (FIDO)

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NFPA, Fire Analysis and Research, Quincy, MA

Table 2.

Large-Loss Fires of $20 Million or More in 2011

 

Incident and Location

 

Loss in Millions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wildfire, Texas

$400.0

 

Crop growing and storage, California

$40.0

 

Wildfire, Texas

$40.0

 

Plastic products storage, Texas

$35.0

 

Chemical manufacturing plant, Kentucky

$35.0

 

Vehicle parts assembly plant, Michigan

$22.5

 

Power generation plant, California

$20.0

 

Fertilizer manufacturing plant, South Carolina

$20.0

 

Office building, Nebraska

$20.0

 

Office building, North Carolina

$20.0

 

Chemical manufacturing plant, Texas

$20.0

 

 

 

 

Total Fires: 11

$672.5

 

Source: NFPA’s Fire Incident Data Organization (FIDO)

Large-Loss Fires-2011, 11/12

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NFPA, Fire Analysis and Research, Quincy, MA

Table 3.

2011 Large-Loss Fires by Major Property Use Classification

 

 

Number of

 

Percent of

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Property Use

 

Fires

 

Fires

Total Dollar Loss

Percent of Loss

 

 

 

 

 

Manufacturing

7

31.8%

$130,500,000

16.3%

Basic Industry

4

18.2%

$83,100,000

10.4%

Stores and Offices

4

18.2%

$65,000,000

8.1%

Wildlands

3

13.6%

$455,000,000

56.9%

Storage

2

9.1%

$45,345,000

5.7%

Vehicle

1

4.5%

$10,080,000

1.3%

Public assembly

1

4.5%

$10,000,000

1.3%

 

 

 

 

 

Total

22

100.0%

$799,025,000

100.0%

Source: NFPA’s Fire Incident Data Organization (FIDO)

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NFPA, Fire Analysis and Research, Quincy, MA

Figure 1

Large-Loss Fires, Unadjusted and Adjusted for Inflation, 2002-2011

 

50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

45

 

 

 

 

 

45

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

40

 

 

 

 

 

38

 

 

 

 

 

35

 

 

 

 

 

 

34

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fires

30

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

25

25

 

 

 

 

 

25

24

 

22

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

of

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20

 

21

 

 

 

 

 

20

17

 

Number

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15

 

 

16

16

16

 

 

 

 

13

 

17

 

 

14

 

 

 

11

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10

 

 

10

 

 

Not Adjusted for Inflation

 

 

 

 

 

 

8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted for Inflation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year

 

 

 

 

The inflation adjustment is based on the Consumer Price Index using 2002 as the base year.

Figure 2

Direct Dollar Loss in Large-Loss Fires, Unadjusted and Adjusted (2002-2011)

 

$4,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not Adjusted for Inflation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$3,500

 

Adjusted for Inflation

 

$3,393

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$3,321

 

 

 

 

$3,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

millions)

 

 

$2,623

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$2,500

 

$2,583

 

 

 

$2,322

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$2,230

 

 

 

$2,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(in

$1,500

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$1,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$940

 

$799

Dollar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$899

$652

 

 

 

 

 

 

$380

 

 

 

 

$500

$562

 

$337

$217

 

 

 

$590

$562

 

$359

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$276

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$0

 

 

$137

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year

 

 

 

 

 

The inflation adjustment is based on the Consumer Price Index using 2002 as the

Large-Loss Fires-2011, 11/12

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NFPA, Fire Analysis and Research, Quincy, MA