According to the National Fire Protection Association, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 1,389,500 fires.  These fires resulted in 3,005 civilian fire fatalities, 17,500 civilians fire injuries and an estimated $11,659,000,000 in direct property loss.  There was a civilian fire death every 208 minutes and a civilian fire injury every 30 minutes in 2012.  Home fires caused 2,520 of the civilian fire deaths.  Fires accounted for 50 percent of the 30,098,000 total calls.

Cooking is, and has been, the leading cause of home structure fires and civilian home  fire injuries.  This is true for both fires reported to the fire departments and those handled without fire department assistance.  During a five year period, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated average of 157,300 home structure fires in which cooking equipment was involved in the ignition.  These fires caused an average of 380 civilian deaths, 4,920 reported civilian injuries, and $794 million in direct property damage.

Home fires involving cooking peak on dates that are major U.S. holidays with traditions of cooking, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Christmas Eve.  Thanksgiving had three times the average number of reported home structure fires involving cooking equipment.
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