WireGaugeCalc Electrical statistics
Numbers on fires, shock, power and the trade, taken from the agencies that publish them. Each figure links to its source and shows the date of the data.
Electrical Fire Statistics
Electrical fire statistics for US homes and buildings: fires, deaths, wiring, arcing, home age and AFCIs from NFPA, USFA and CPSC. Updated monthly.
Read the page- NFPA counts an average of 46,652 home electrical structure fires a year from 2020 to 2024.
- Home electrical fires are about 13% of all home structure fires.
- They cause about 18% of home structure fire deaths.
- USFA estimates 26,400 residential building electrical malfunction fires in 2024.
Fire safety
How many home fires start, what starts them, and what they cost.
- Apartment Fire Statistics Apartment fire statistics for 2026: counts, deaths, causes, alarms, sprinklers and high-rise data from NFPA, USFA and state records. Updated monthly. In 2024, US fire departments responded to an estimated 76,000 apartment or other multifamily fires, which caused 340 civilian deaths, 2,290 civilian injuries and $2.0 billion in direct property damage.
- Dryer Fire Statistics Dryer fire statistics from NFPA, USFA, CPSC and EIA: yearly fires, lint, gas vs electric, losses and recalls. Updated monthly. Fire departments responded to about 13,820 home fires a year in which a dryer was involved in ignition, with $233 million in direct property damage.
- House Fire Causes Statistics House fire causes statistics from NFPA, USFA and CPSC: what starts home fires, what kills, what injures, and how the ranking has shifted. Updated monthly. Cooking started 49% of reported US home fires in 2019 to 2023, an average of 159,439 fires a year.
- House Fire Statistics House fire statistics for the US: fires, deaths, dollar loss, state rates, time of day, smoke alarms and sprinklers, from NFPA and USFA. Updated monthly. Fire departments responded to 329,500 home fires in 2024, one every 96 seconds.
Shock and injury
Deaths and injuries from shock, power lines and lightning.
- Electrocution Statistics Electrocution statistics for the US: deaths and injuries at work, at home and among children, from BLS, CPSC, NIOSH and OSHA. Updated monthly. 130 US workers died from exposure to electricity in 2024, down from 142 in 2023.
- Power Line Death Statistics Power line death statistics from BLS, OSHA, NIOSH and ESFI: lineworker fatality rates, electrocution causes, public contact and fire deaths. Updated monthly. Electrical power-line installers died at 13.8 per 100,000 full-time workers in 2024, against 3.3 for all workers.
- Struck by Lightning Statistics Struck by lightning statistics for 2026: US deaths, odds, states, activities, wildfires and insurance claims, from NOAA, CDC and more. Updated monthly. Lightning killed 21 people in the US in 2025, and the 10-year average is 20.
Power and grid
Outages, how long they last, and who they hit.
EV and batteries
Charging networks, home panels and battery fires.
How these pages are sourced
- 01
Primary sources
Each number comes from the agency or group that ran the count, such as NFPA, USFA, CPSC, BLS and OSHA.
- 02
Linked and dated
Each figure links to its source and shows the month of the data. Where two sources count the same thing, both are shown.
- 03
Charts from the source
Charts are taken from the source report and credited under the chart.
Size the wire for the job
The calculators are free. They show the NEC table or article behind each result. Check the code year your area has adopted.