Kitchen Fires: US Home Cooking Fire Statistics and Trends (2026 Tracker)

This month in brief

• Cooking is the leading cause of US residential building fires: 167,800 of 344,600 in 2023, or 48.7% (USFA).
• Cooking fires are rarely deadly: 4.3% of 2023 residential fire deaths, 0.74 deaths per 1,000 fires against 15.64 for other causes.
• From 2014 to 2023, cooking fire deaths fell 49% and injuries 37%, while all residential fire deaths rose 5%.
• Thanksgiving is the peak: 3.97 times an ordinary November Thursday in 2025, 3.96 in 2024 and 3.9 in 2023 (NFIRS 2025 public data).
• Emergency departments treated an estimated 49,046 range and oven injuries in 2025, half of them burns and 17.7% in children 0 to 4 (CPSC NEISS 2025).
• Ranges or cooktops were involved in 64.3% of 2025 reported cooking fires that spread beyond the pan.
• Electric ranges show 3.68 times the gas rate of reported range fires per household in 2025.
• NFIRS was shut down in February 2026; December 2025 reporting fell 29.2%, so late-2025 counts need care.

Kitchen fires are half of US residential building fires but 4.3% of the deaths

Cooking caused 48.7% of the 344,600 US residential building fires USFA estimated for 2023, yet only 4.3% of the 2,890 deaths. Most cooking fires stay in the pan or oven.

Kitchen fire vs cooking fire: Fire agencies do not count kitchen fires by room. USFA and NFPA count cooking fires: fires caused by cooking or cooking equipment, including the confined pan and oven fires NFIRS codes as incident type 113. This report uses cooking fires as the measurable stand-in for kitchen fires. An electrical fire that starts in a kitchen wall is not a cooking fire.

USFA estimates 167,800 residential building cooking fires in 2023, with 125 deaths, 2,500 injuries and $572.7 million in dollar loss. Cooking was the leading cause of residential building fires in every year from 2014 to 2023, far ahead of the next cause in 2023, other unintentional or careless fires at 31,500 (USFA causes).

The severity gap is large. In 2023 cooking fires caused 0.74 deaths per 1,000 fires; all other residential building fires caused 15.64, a ratio of 21.1 to 1. Dollar loss averaged $3,413 per cooking fire against $60,484 for other causes. NFPA reports that 80% of home cooking fires in 2017 to 2021 were confined to the object or pan of origin.

Cooking fire deaths fell 49% from 2014 to 2023 while all residential fire deaths rose 5%

The number of cooking fires barely moved in ten years, but deaths and injuries from them fell sharply, in contrast with residential fires as a whole.

USFA's ten-year trend for 2014 to 2023 shows residential cooking fires down 11%, cooking fire deaths down 49%, injuries down 37% and inflation-adjusted dollar loss down 15% (USFA). Over the same years all residential building fires fell 6%, deaths rose 5%, injuries fell 8% and inflation-adjusted dollar loss rose 25% (USFA residential).

Cooking's share of residential fire injuries fell from 34.2% in 2014 to 24.0% in 2023, and its share of deaths from 9.0% to 4.3%. Cooking was still the leading cause of residential building fire injuries in 2023 (USFA injuries). The leading cause of deaths in 2023 was other unintentional or careless fires, with 625 (USFA deaths).

NFPA's fire count is lower and its death and injury counts are higher than USFA's, because NFPA uses its own fire department survey, a home rather than residential building definition, and its own allocation of unknown equipment: an average of 158,400 home cooking fires a year in 2017 to 2021, with 470 deaths, 4,150 injuries and $1.15 billion in direct damage (NFPA). NFPA's cooking safety page puts cooking equipment at 48% of home structure fires, 35% of home fire injuries and 16% of home fire deaths for 2020 to 2024 (NFPA cooking safety). The two series answer slightly different questions; this report uses USFA as the primary count and cites NFPA for detail USFA does not publish.

Thanksgiving brings nearly four times the cooking fires of an ordinary November Thursday

In the 2025 public data, fire departments reported 780 residential cooking fires on Thanksgiving, 3.97 times the average of the other Thursdays that November. The multiple was 3.96 in 2024 and 3.9 in 2023.

KBR counted residential building cooking fires by date in the NFIRS 2025 public data and the 2024 and 2023 releases. Comparing Thanksgiving with the other Thursdays of the same November holds the weekday and the season constant. The pooled 2023 to 2025 multiple is 3.94. Cooking caused 69.0% of all reported residential building fires on Thanksgiving 2025.

Christmas Day ranked second in 2023 and 2024, at 2.02 and 1.86 times the average day. In 2025 it fell to 0.79 because reporting collapsed in December: reported residential cooking fires in December 2025 were 29.2% below December 2024 as departments moved to the new NERIS system (USFA NFIRS sunset). The 2025 holiday figures after Thanksgiving should not be read as a real decline. NFPA also names Thanksgiving as the peak day, followed by Christmas Day and Christmas Eve (NFPA).

26.7% of reported cooking fires reach fire departments between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The dinner hours dominate. The single busiest alarm hour in 2025 was the 18:00 hour, with 7,586 reported residential cooking fires.

Alarms between 17:00 and 19:59 accounted for 26.7% of the 80,379 reported residential cooking fires in 2025 (NFIRS 2025 public data). The overnight trough falls at 04:00, with 672 fires. NFPA reports the same 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. peak for 2017 to 2021 and notes that late-night cooking fires carry a higher share of deaths (NFPA).

Emergency departments treated an estimated 49,046 range and oven injuries in 2025

NEISS, CPSC's hospital sample, puts 2025 emergency department visits involving ranges or ovens at 49,046 (95% CI 38,556 to 59,536). About half were burns.

KBR summed the NEISS sample weights for every 2025 case that lists product code 0278 (electric ranges or ovens), 0279 (gas ranges or ovens), 0280 (other ranges or ovens) or 0281 (ranges or ovens, not specified) in any of its three product fields (CPSC NEISS 2025; codes from the CPSC comparability table). Burns made up 50.2% of the total (24,616), and 6,899 visits (14.1%) had fire involvement coded. 14.1% of patients were admitted, transferred or held for observation.

Children 0 to 4 accounted for 17.7% of range and oven injuries (8,661) and adults 65 and older for 24.4% (11,974). The 2025 total was 12.2% above 2024's 43,706, but the two confidence intervals overlap, so the change is not statistically clear. Microwave ovens added 13,692 visits; ranges and ovens were involved in 3.6 times as many. Bathroom injuries are covered separately in bathroom accident statistics.

Ranges and cooktops are coded in 64.3% of cooking fires that spread past the pan

Among 2025 reported nonconfined residential cooking fires with equipment recorded, 2,855 of 4,443 involved a range or cooktop. Ovens, grills and microwaves follow far behind.

Equipment is recorded only for cooking fires that were not confined to the container, so these shares describe the more serious fires. NFPA's estimate across all home cooking fires in 2017 to 2021 is lower, at 53%, but ranges or cooktops were involved in 88% of cooking fire deaths and 74% of injuries (NFPA). Readers planning appliance changes can see where they fall in the kitchen remodel timeline and price them with the remodel cost calculator.

Electric ranges show about 3.7 times the reported fire rate per household of gas ranges

Electric ranges were 84.3% of fuel-coded range fires reported in 2025, while 59.1% of US households cook with electricity. Per household, that is 3.68 times the gas rate.

KBR divided reported nonconfined range or cooktop fires by fuel (NFIRS 2025 public data) by the number of households cooking with each fuel in the American Housing Survey 2023: 78.7 million electric and 54.1 million gas (piped plus LP). The electric-to-gas rate ratio was 3.5 in 2023, 3.86 in 2024 and 3.68 in 2025. NFPA's 2017 to 2021 estimate is lower, at 2.4 times, and covers all reported home cooking fires (NFPA).

The ratio does not prove that electric ranges are intrinsically more dangerous. NFPA notes it is less obvious when an electric burner is on or still hot, and that electric elements take time to cool (NFPA). Since June 2018, per NFPA, UL 858 has required new electric coil ranges to pass a test that keeps cooking oil from igniting, with a dry-pan alternative of an average pan temperature no higher than 385 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes (NIST TN 1986; UL Standards and Engagement). CPSC staff supported the proposal in 2015 (CPSC staff letter). Gas-stove regulation is covered in our gas stove ban tracker.

Nine range and cooktop recalls since 2016 cited fire or burn hazards, covering 1,872,570 units

Two recalls for front-mounted knobs that can be switched on by accidental contact account for 1,620,905 of those units, 86.6%.

KBR searched every recall in the CPSC Recall API dated 2016 to 2025 for household ranges, ovens, cooktops and stoves, removing portable, countertop, camping and heating appliances. That left 17 recall notices, of which 9 cite a fire, burn or gas-ignition hazard. Others cite tip-over, carbon monoxide, electric shock or impact hazards. The list is a factual record of CPSC notices, not a rating of any brand.

What USFA and NFPA publish about putting out a grease fire

Both agencies tell households to smother a small pan fire with a lid and turn off the heat. This report repeats their published wording and adds nothing of its own.

• USFA: keep a pan lid or baking sheet nearby and use it to cover the pan if it catches fire; stand by your pan and turn the burner off if you leave the kitchen (USFA cooking safety).
• NFPA: smother a small grease fire by sliding the lid over the pan and turning off the stovetop, and leave the pan covered until it is completely cool; for an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed (NFPA cooking safety).
• NFPA: for any cooking fire, just get out, close the door behind you and call 9-1-1 (NFPA cooking safety).
• USFA: unattended equipment was the leading factor contributing to ignition in 37% of nonconfined home cooking fires (USFA cooking safety).

Momentum and share analysis

Download the calculations (CSV)

Findings to track

1. USFA estimates 167,800 US residential building cooking fires in 2023, 48.7% of all 344,600 residential building fires.^[1][2]
2. Cooking fires caused 125 of 2,890 US residential building fire deaths in 2023 (4.3%) and 2,500 of 10,400 injuries (24.0%).^[1][2]
3. US residential cooking fire deaths fell 49% from 2014 to 2023, while deaths from all residential building fires rose 5%.^[1][2]
4. In 2023 US cooking fires caused 0.74 deaths per 1,000 fires, against 15.64 for all other residential building fires.^[1][2]
5. Thanksgiving 2025 had 780 reported residential cooking fires in NFIRS, 3.97 times the average of the other November 2025 Thursdays; the multiple was 3.96 in 2024 and 3.9 in 2023.^[7][8][9]
6. 26.7% of 2025 reported US residential cooking fires had an alarm between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.^[7]
7. US emergency departments treated an estimated 49,046 injuries involving ranges or ovens in 2025 (95% CI 38,556 to 59,536), 50.2% of them burns.^[11]
8. Children 0 to 4 accounted for an estimated 8,661 US range and oven ED injuries in 2025, 17.7% of the total.^[11]
9. Ranges or cooktops were coded in 64.3% of 2025 US reported residential cooking fires that spread beyond the container.^[7]
10. Per household, electric ranges appeared in reported US range fires at 3.68 times the gas rate in 2025, using AHS 2023 household counts.^[7][16]
11. From 2016 to 2025, 9 CPSC recalls of household ranges, ovens or cooktops cited fire or burn hazards, covering 1,872,570 US units.^[17]
12. Reported cooking fires were 50.6% of 2025 US residential building fires with a known cause in the NFIRS public data, up from 46.6% in 2024.^[7][8]
13. NFPA estimates ranges or cooktops were involved in 53% of US home cooking fires and 88% of cooking fire deaths in 2017 to 2021.^[21]

Frequently asked questions

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Reproduce this analysis

Every figure comes from the files below. The scripts that pulled and computed them are kept with the report and can be re-run.

Data quality and exclusions

• NFIRS 2025: excluded 52,514 residential building fire records coded as aid given (codes 3 or 4) to avoid double counting; 2024 excluded 63,471 and 2023 excluded 68,035.
• NFIRS: 44,235 of 203,144 reported 2025 residential building fires had an unknown cause; they are left out of the known-cause share, as in USFA's method.
• NFIRS 2025: reported December cooking fires were 29.2% below December 2024 because of the NERIS transition; the Thanksgiving signature uses November Thursdays only so the drop does not affect it.
• NEISS: age code 0 (unknown) is excluded from age groups; ages over 200 are converted from months. The 2025 file has 410,201 records.
• NEISS: the 2024 estimate for code 0280 (other ranges or ovens) is flagged unstable under the CPSC rule; no other reported group is unstable.
• CPSC recalls: some API date windows returned errors and were re-pulled in shorter windows until every window from 2016 to 2025 returned data; 17 notices remained after removing portable, countertop, camping and heating products.
• AHS: households with no cooking fuel or other fuels are excluded from the per-household rate.

Methodology

Source selection: USFA residential building fire estimates are the primary national count because they are official, annual and published by cause. The NFIRS Public Data Release (2023, 2024 and 2025 fire and hazmat files on OpenFEMA) supplies incident-level detail for dates, hours, equipment and fuel. CPSC NEISS supplies emergency department injuries. NFPA is cited for headline figures only, with its data years, and its tables are not reproduced. AHS 2023 supplies households by cooking fuel.

Inclusion rules for NFIRS: residential building fires are incident types 111, 113 to 118 and 120 to 123 in the 400-series property uses, excluding aid given (codes 3 and 4) to avoid double counting, following USFA definitions. Cooking fires are those USFA's structure fire cause file assigns to the Cooking main cause. Raw counts are used only inside ratios (Thanksgiving vs other Thursdays, shares, rates per household), never as national totals, as USFA instructs.

NEISS: KBR summed the Weight variable for cases with product code 0278, 0279, 0280 or 0281 (ranges or ovens) or 0264 (microwave ovens) in any product field. Burns are diagnosis codes 46, 47, 48, 49, 51 or 73 in either diagnosis field. Variance uses a with-replacement approximation over primary sampling units within the five NEISS strata. Estimates under 1,200, from fewer than 20 cases, or with a CV over 33% are flagged unstable, per CPSC.

Conflicting numbers: USFA and NFPA disagree because NFPA uses its own fire experience survey, a broader home definition and allocation of unknown equipment; this report presents USFA as the count and labels every NFPA figure. KBR checked its NFIRS filter by reproducing USFA's 2023 cooking share (48.6% vs 48.7% published).

Derived metrics: every formula, input row and result is in derived_metrics.csv and is reproducible with the scripts in the scripts folder.

Limitations: NFIRS is voluntary and not a census; 2025 reporting fell late in the year as departments moved to NERIS. NEISS counts ED visits, not all injuries. Equipment and fuel are recorded only for fires that spread beyond the container. Last updated 2026-10-27.

This report presents published data with its limitations. It is not legal, financial or investment advice.

Sources, ranked by quality

Tier 1: primary and official sources (20)

• [1] U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA). Residential Fire Estimate Summaries (2014-2023). 2014 to 2023. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [2] U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA). Residential building cooking fires (2014-2023). 2014 to 2023. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [3] U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA). Leading causes of residential building fires (2014-2023). 2014 to 2023. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [4] U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA). Leading causes of residential building fire injuries (2014-2023). 2014 to 2023. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [5] U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA). Leading causes of residential building fire deaths (2014-2023). 2014 to 2023. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [6] U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA). National Estimates Methodology for Building Fires and Losses. methodology. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [7] FEMA OpenFEMA / U.S. Fire Administration. NFIRS Public Data Release 2025, Fire and Hazmat incidents (initial release, with release notes and causes.txt). 2025. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [8] FEMA OpenFEMA / U.S. Fire Administration. NFIRS Public Data Release 2024, Fire and Hazmat incidents. 2024. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [9] FEMA OpenFEMA / U.S. Fire Administration. NFIRS Public Data Release 2023, Fire and Hazmat incidents. 2023. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [10] U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA). NFIRS Sunset. 2025 to 2026. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [11] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. NEISS annual data file 2025 (neiss2025.tsv). 2025. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [12] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. NEISS annual data file 2024 (neiss2024.tsv). 2024. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [13] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. NEISS 2025 Product Code Comparability Table. codes in use through 2025. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [14] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Explanation of NEISS Estimates Obtained Through the CPSC Website. current guidance. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [15] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). release schedule. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [16] U.S. Census Bureau and HUD. American Housing Survey 2023 National Public Use File v1.1 (CSV). 2023. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [17] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. SaferProducts.gov Recall API (recalls dated 2016-01-01 to 2025-12-31). 2016 to 2025. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [18] U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA). Cooking fire safety outreach materials. page reviewed 2026-09-28. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [19] National Institute of Standards and Technology. NIST Technical Note 1986: Investigation of Residential Cooktop Ignition Prevention Technologies. May 2018. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [20] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. CPSC staff comments on proposed UL 858 coil surface unit cooking oil ignition test. 2015-01-02. Accessed 2026-10-27.

Tier 2: trade bodies, market research, company data (3)

• [21] National Fire Protection Association. Home Cooking Fires (NFPA research report, 2017 to 2021 data). 2017 to 2021. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [22] National Fire Protection Association. Cooking safety. 2020 to 2024. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [23] UL Standards & Engagement. Household Oven and Range Standards: Helping to Mitigate the Risk of Burns. standard summary. Accessed 2026-10-27.