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Fire Fatality Stats

CCFS – Fire Fatality Data  (last updated 4/16/2022).  

These statistics are updated when there is a college student fatality that fits the definition below.

From January 2000 to present 
 

94 fatal fires have been documented that occurred on a college campus, in Greek housing or in off-campus housing within 3-miles of the campus – claiming a total of 134 victims:

• 80 fires have occurred in off-campus housing claiming 114 victims 
• 8 fires have occurred in on-campus building or residence halls claiming 10 victims 
• 6 fires have occurred in Greek housing claiming 10 victims

Of the 94 fires documented:

• 14 were intentionally set claiming 22 victims 
• 38 were accidental – includes cooking, candles, smoking or electrical claiming 51 victims 
• 42 of the fires the cause was never determined – or the cause was not available at press time. These fires claimed 61 victims.  

Fire Fatality Statistics  

CCFS has been collecting Fire Fatality Statistics since Year 2000. CCFS provides basic information about fire fatalities that occurred on a university or college campus, or that occurred within the town where the campus is located. This data is collected from news sources from around the country and the accuracy of the reported data cannot be guaranteed. There are likely more fire fatalities that have occurred that were not reported as a campus fire. As more fires occur and more information is received about previous incidents, the Fire Fatality Data will be updated. Once fire data is received it is reviewed to determine if the victim matches the criteria as defined by The Center as a campus related fire.

This definition is as follows:

On-Campus Fire Death: 
Any fire death occurring on a college or university campus. This includes academic, faculty, laboratories, physical plant, residence halls and family housing. Any person that has died in a fire located on the campus, or within 30-days of the fire is classified as an on-campus fire fatality.

Off-Campus Fire Death: 
Any person 18 to 25 years of age enrolled as a student at an institution of higher learning and died in a residential dwelling unit fire that is located 3-miles or less from a  campus. This includes a rented house, duplex, apartment, rooming house or privately owned residence hall that was not the student’s permanent (family) residence.

Greek Fire Death: 
Any person that died in a fire in a fraternity or sorority house.

Those not considered a campus related fire victims: Suicide victims by fire, family members visiting or living with the student, non-students that live with students in off-campus housing, former students, students living with a spouse or their children in a permanent residence.

USFA Stats

This is a report issued by the United States Fire Administration (USFA). Campus Fire Fatalities in Residential Buildings (2000-2015) Executive Summary

The goal of this report is to reveal the factors that are leading to the unnecessary fire deaths of college students. This study provides comprehensive information about campus fire fatalities to college and university fire and safety officials along with the local fire and emergency service organizations that serve these institutions so they can better plan to reduce and prevent injuries and deaths on college campuses in the future.

This report examines data from fatal campus fires and the fatalities that resulted from these fires, beginning with the horrific fire that took place in January 2000 at a Seton Hall University dormitory, where three students and 67 others were injured, through May 2015.

During the last 16 academic years from 2000 through 2015, there have been 85 fatal fires in dormitories, fraternities, sororities and off-campus housing, resulting in 118 fatalities — an average of approximately seven per school year. An astonishing 94 percent of fatal campus fires examined took place in off-campus housing.

Smoke alarms were either missing or had been tampered with (disconnected or battery removed) in 58 percent of fatal campus fires. Fire sprinklers were not present in any of the 85 fatal campus fires.

DOWNLOAD REPORT

NFPA Stats

Dormitories, fraternities, sororities, and barracks

Author: Tucker McGree
Issued: July 2023
 

Key Findings

  • United States fire departments responded to an estimated average of 3,379 structure fires in dormitories, fraternity houses, sorority houses, and barracks each year during 2017–2021.
  • Fires in dormitory-type properties caused an annual average of 23 civilian injuries and $12 million in direct property damage during that period.
  • There was an average of two civilian fatalities per year over the five-year period.
  • Most of these fires occurred in unclassified dormitory-type occupancies, with smaller shares of the fires occurring in barracks, dormitory properties, and sorority or fraternity houses.
  • Approximately three out of four fires in these properties began in the kitchen or cooking area. Cooking equipment was involved in nearly 9 out of 10 fires.
  • Unattended equipment was the most common factor contributing to the ignition of these fires.
  • Approximately 9 out of 10 fires (88 percent) were classified as confined fires that did not extend beyond the object of origin.
  • Saturday and Sunday were the peak days for these fires. However, fires that occurred on weekdays accounted for larger shares of injuries.
  • The peak time of day for fires in dormitory-type properties was between 4 p.m. and midnight when over half of the fires occurred.
  • Fires were least likely to occur between midnight and 8 a.m., but these fires accounted for a greater share of the injuries and direct property damage.
  • February, September, and October were the peak months for fires in dormitory-type properties, while the fewest number of fires were recorded in June and July.
  • See supporting tables for detailed statistics.
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