Top Winter Fire Hazards in America, According to New Study

Fire numbers are lowest in December compared to the rest of the year, so January is a good time to start being more cautious. Cooking equipment ranked highly among the greatest fire hazards in winter.

The clothes dryer ranked as the fourth most reported home equipment involved in ignition during the winter holidays. Overloaded heating and power systems are among the biggest fire starters too.

This is according to a new study from Cinch Home Services, which analyzed the fire incidents involving equipment across each US state, sourced from the US National Fire Incident Reporting System, in December 2023.

They produced a list of 20 household items worth checking for fire safety.

Fire numbers start increasing in January compared to a generally calmer December.
Surprisingly, clothes dryers are the fourth greatest fire hazard this time of year.
Experts advise on committing to an achievable New Year’s resolution to make one’s home safer against fire risks.

Range cooking surfaces are the greatest fire hazard in America. They caused 941 fires in the winter months. It is the most quoted equipment in fire reports across 32 US states in December 2023.

The heating from the stove poses the second biggest ignition danger during the colder season. Though safer than ranges, stoves still caused 386 fires around the winter holidays. A house fire can start from an overheated oil pan, a kitchen towel left too close to the stove, leaving the stove on and unattended, or a breeze of fresh air hitting an already smoldering stove.

Electrical wiring is the third most common winter fire in the colder months. There were 298 house fires attributed to faulty wiring in December 2023 alone.

Clothes dryers ranked fourth for top US fire hazards in the winter. It ignites almost as many fires as electrical wiring, namely 281 in a month. Manufacturers highlight the importance of properly cleaning lint accumulated through crevices into an ignitable build-up in unreachable areas of the dryer.

Other top ten fire-inducing equipment most dangerous around the winter holidays include: rotisserie ovens; kitchen and cooking equipment; heating, ventilating and air conditioning; electrical power lines; heaters other than catalytic and oil-filled; and fans.

Overall, Americans reported 45,645 fires in December 2023, regardless of equipment involvement, and 47,278 in January that same year. In fact, December was the month with the lowest number of fire incidents in 2023 across the US, though this would include hot weather fires and incidents outside ordinary human control. Now is a good time to investigate possible fire risks around the house.

Top Ten Winter Hazards in America

#	Equipment involved in ignition	Incident number in December 2023
1	Range, stove with/without oven, cooking surface	941
2	Stove, heating	386
3	Electrical wiring, other	298
4	Clothes dryer	281
5	Oven, rotisserie	229
6	Kitchen & cooking equipment, other	185
7	Heating, ventilating & air conditioning, other	170
8	Electrical power (utility) line	168
9	Heater, excluding catalytic and oil-filled heaters	163
10	Fan	139
11	Outlet, receptacle	139
12	Heat lamp	100
13	Microwave oven	93
14	Fireplace, chimney, other	86
15	Grill, hibachi, barbecue	80
16	Water heater	76
17	Electrical distribution, power transfer, other	62
18	Battery	58
19	Deep fryer	53
20	Generator	53

“As soon as the holiday chaos ensues, there is understandably little time to consider anything other than the problem at hand,” said a spokesperson for Cinch Home Services. “As we leave the holiday season behind us, may one of your New Year’s resolutions be to make your home safer against fire risks. You can start small by changing the batteries on your fire alarms and sprinklers, give the clothes dryer a thorough clean to avoid starting a lint fire, and unplug anything that is not in use to ease the pressure on your power system.”

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Ray Hanania

Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

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