Halloween Fires
 
By MFC Fire Prevention Bureau
October 23, 2015
 

For each year from 2011 to 2013, an estimated 10,300 fires were reported to fire departments in the United States over a three-day period around Halloween and caused an estimated 25 deaths, 125 injuries and $83 million in property loss. In terms of numbers of Halloween fires, the largest general property type category was outside fires (38 percent) followed by residential fires (33 percent). Residential Halloween fires, however, resulted in the most deaths (94 percent), injuries (78 percent) and property loss (58 percent). Halloween fires occurred most frequently in the late afternoon and early evening hours, peaking during the dinner hours from 5 to 7 p.m. Fires then declined, reaching the lowest point during the early morning hours (4 to 7 a.m.). The leading causes of Halloween residential fires were cooking (44 percent), heating (15 percent), other unintentional careless actions (7 percent), open flame (6 percent), electrical malfunction (6 percent), and intentional actions (5 percent). Please exercise caution during the Halloween season and be fire safe.