Property losses from fires in 2021 totaled $52.3 million in Fresno, compared to $25.5 million in 2020, according to a report from the Fresno Fire Department. Photo by Issy Bailey via unsplash.com

A home fire can be the most devastating disaster a family can experience. And according to a national insurance company’s study, Fresno ranks third in the nation for home fire risk.

Insurance giant The Hartford released its Home Fire Risk Index this week as part of its Junior Fire Marshal Program, ranking the top 150 U.S. cities with the greatest risk of residential structure fires.

When the report was last released in 2020, Fresno ranked No. 99 on the list. Now, it is beat only by Modesto at No. 1 and Shreveport, Louisiana, at No. 2.

According to Hartford’s claims data, 39% of home fires are due to electrical mishaps, followed by 12% related to cooking/stoves and 8% caused by a heating source.

The most home fires happen between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.

Fresno Deputy Fire Chief Ted Semonious said statistics can be tricky. For the most part, the number of structure fires has stayed around 1,000 a year. In 2011, there were 900 compared to 1,035 last year. That number includes everything from a shed to a large commercial building.

Semonious spoke with a representative of The Hartford Thursday to learn more about the statistics gathering.

Calls made to The Hartford by The Business Journal were not returned.

The statistics include fires in single-family residences and multi-family properties.

The reporting is based largely off the codes fire departments use to differentiate between kinds of fires. The Fresno Fire Department includes fires in vacant buildings in its coding. There has been an increase in fires in vacant buildings, Semonious said, “but it hasn’t been a huge number.”

Firefighters may go out to a home three or four times because of a single fire incident, adding to the count.

From 2020 to 2021, fire calls to the Fresno Fire Department increased 30%, according to the department’s 2021 annual report. The 2022 report has not yet been released.

While structure fires decreased 7% in that period, vegetation fires were up 28%. July 2021 had the most fires on record, with 670 in a single month. Property losses from fires in 2021 totaled $52.3 million, compared to $25.5 million in 2020. Arson was responsible for $4.8 million in damages in 2021 compared to $4.5 million in 2020. There were 1,131 people displaced because of fire in 2021 compared to 761 in 2020.

Negligence toward fire risk has decreased markedly since its 2020 report, according to The Hartford. There has been a 45% decrease in people overloading electrical sockets, according to a survey The Hartford conducted. Unattended fire situations were also down, with a 64% decrease in the number of people falling asleep with a fire still burning in their fireplace. There was a 75% drop in the number of people leaving a lit candle near drapes or other flammable items.

Semonious says the type of fire depends on the time of year. In the winter, space heaters are a risk factor. In the spring and fall, hot ashes from charcoal grills pose a threat.

Fire fighters have responded to several fires caused by power equipment in a garage.

The Department is working toward applying for a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that would provide funding for education. Funding is dependent on the program and Semonious anticipates the size of the program could be $35,000.