ABSTRACT

Fire losses in the U.S. are substantial, and are growing. In 1988, fire losses in the country totaled nearly ten billion dollars, averaging $39.12 for each person. The total amount of fire losses in the U.S. has increased 4.1 times between 1970 and 1988; during the same time period, the consumer price index rose by only 3 times. Thus, the increase in monetary losses caused by fire is outstripping inflation, and growing at a real-dollar rate of 2 percent per year.