Click here to read the original version published in the WINTER 2023 issue of NFPA JOURNAL
For more information, go to https://www.nfpa.org
This article is reprinted with permission from NFPA Journal, © 2024 NFPA..
DESPITE A SHARP DROP IN THE NUMBER OF THESE FIRES IN THE UNITED STATES IN RECENT DECADES, THEY STILL KILL AND INJURE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE EACH YEAR
United States fire departments responded to an estimated annual average 36,784 fires at industrial or manufacturing properties during the 2017–2021 period. Estimated annual losses from these fires included 22 civilian deaths, 211 civilian injuries, and $1.5 billion in direct property damage Fire incidents involving industrial
Fire incidents involving industrial or manufacturing properties are identified in the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) using the indicated property use. There exists only one NFIRS code for manufacturing or processing facilities while industrial properties include several codes. These industrial property codes indicate one of the following subcategories for property use: energy production plant, laboratory, defense/computer or communications center, utility or distribution center, agriculture, forest, or mine/quarry.
Fires in these types of properties have fallen substantially in recent decades. In 1980 there were an estimated 114,500 fires, compared to 38,738 in 2021—a 66 percent decrease.
Data shows similar trends for the number of civilian deaths and injuries during this time. Direct property damage, when the reported amount is adjusted for inflation, shows a less consistent trend and is subject to more year-to-year fluctuation. Of the estimated annual average of 36,784 fires that occurred during the period under review, approximately 22 percent were structure fires, 10 percent were vehicle fires, and the remaining incidents were classified as outside or unclassified fires.
Structure fires
Manufacturing or processing properties (63 percent) versus industrial properties (37 percent). Overall, structure fires contributed to the largest shares of losses in civilian injuries and direct property damage. According to NFIRS data, the cause of ignition was indicated as failure of equipment or heat source in 24 percent of structure fires. Equipment involved included electrical distribution, lighting, and power transfer equipment (wiring, transformers, etc.) in 21 percent of the fires. Another 16 percent indicated heating equipment such as a heat lamp, confined fuel burner or boiler, or fixed or portable space heater. NFIRS data indicated that approximately 15 percent of the fires included arcing, 11 percent included radiated or conducted heat from operating equipment, and another 9 percent indicated a spark, ember, or flame from operating equipment. Factors contributing to ignition were also analyzed in the data, and some of the leading factors of structure fires in industrial properties included a mechanical failure or malfunction (17 percent), an electrical failure or malfunction (13 percent), and a heat source too close to combustibles (9 percent). Nine percent of these fires were classified as intentionally set.
In manufacturing or processing facilities, cause of ignition was listed as failure of equipment or heat source in 31 percent of the fires. The category of shop tools and industrial equipment—including power tools, welding torches, compressors, and heat-treating equipment—was involved in the highest percentage of these fires.Heating equipment was involved in approximately 18 percent of these structure fires, and electrical distribution, lighting, and power transfer were involved in 7 percent. The heat source data showed that an estimated 20 percent of structure fires involved unclassified heat from operating equipment, 17 percent from radiated or conducted heat from operating equipment, and 16 percent from a spark, ember, or flame from operating equipment. A mechanical failure or malfunction was indicated as a factor contributing to ignition in an estimated 24 percent of structure fires. Other leading factors included a failure to clean (11 percent), electrical failure or malfunction (8 percent), and a heat source too close to combustibles (7 percent). Only 3 percent of these fireswere classified as intentionally set.
Vehicle fires, outside and unclassified fires
An estimated annual average of 3,687 vehicle fires (10 percent of total fire incidents) occurred in industrial or manufacturing properties for the period under review.
These incidents wereresponsible for an estimated 10 civilian deaths, 27 civilian injuries, and $134 million in direct property damage each year. Approximately 80 percent of thesefires occurred in industrial properties and 20 percent in manufacturing orprocessing facilities.
Breaking thesenumbers down a bit further, 41 percent of vehicle fires occurred in propertieswith an agricultural use and 13 percent ina forest timberland or woodland use. Themonths with the largest percentage ofvehicle fires in industrial and fires inindustrial and manufacturing propertieswere September (10 percent), October (14 percent), and November (10 percent).
Most of the estimated 2,950 vehiclefires in industrial properties involved off-road vehicles or heavy equipment (55percent). Of these fires, 36 percentinvolved an unclassified mechanical failure or malfunction, and 10 percent involved an unclassified electrical failureor malfunction. A majority of the heat source data was identified as coming from powered equipment: 24 percentwas unclassified, 21 percent was radiatedor conducted, and 11 percent was from aspark, ember, or flame. Almost half ofthese industrial vehicle fires began ineither the engine, running gear, or wheelareas of the vehicle. Nine percent ofthese fires were classified as intentional.
The types of vehicles differ between vehicle fires at manufacturing or processing facilities and those in industrial properties. Only 20 percent of the fires in manufacturing or processing facilities involved off-road vehicles or heavy equipment. Passenger vehicle fires (35 percent) and road freight or transport vehicles (29 percent) each accounted for a larger percentage of vehicle fires. The factors contributing to ignition in manufacturing or processing facilities, however, were similar to those found in industrial properties: 29 percent were identified as an unclassified mechanical failure or malfunction and 16 percent were identified as an electrical malfunction or failure.
The same is true when looking at the area of origin in vehicle fires: 49 percent of the fires began in either the engine, running gear, or wheel areas of the vehicle. Three percent of these fires were classified as intentional.
Finally, the largest share of fires at industrial and manufacturing properties took place in outside and unclassified locations. Outside and unclassified fires are a broad designation comprised of two separate categories: “outside trash or rubbish fires” and “non-trash outside and unclassified fires.” While 68 percent of fires in industrial or manufacturing properties during the 2017– 2021 period were outside and unclassified fires, their share of losses was comparatively small, accounting for 28 percent of civilian deaths, 14 percent of civilian injuries, and 25 percent of direct property damages. Nearly all of the losses were associated with non trash outside and unclassified fires.
TUCKER MCGREE is a research analyst in the Research Division at NFPA.
Comments