Fire statistics – Collection, processing and harmonization

Fire statistics are an indispensable tool for understanding risks, guiding public policy, and improving the protection of people and property. They not only make it possible to measure the effectiveness of regulations and prevention measures, but also to identify the primary risk factors and optimize the allocation of civil protection resources. Furthermore, they inform the cost-benefit analyses essential for justifying safety measures, whether these involve standalone smoke detectors, automatic fire suppression systems, or specific building modifications.

However, despite their strategic importance, fire data collection systems suffer from significant inconsistencies. Definitions vary from one country to another, data collection methods differ, and databases often contain significant gaps, particularly regarding the circumstances of fires and their root causes. In France, for example, the data centralized by the DGSCGC is based on reports from departmental services, but it does not systematically cover delayed deaths or those occurring in hospitals. The partial integration of medical data thus explains the discrepancies observed between official statistics and those of INSERM, which reveal a death toll approximately 30% higher than that reported in the fire department’s annual reports . This lack of comprehensiveness undermines the reliability of longitudinal analyses and skews the evaluation of prevention policies.

Internationally, the diversity of practices further complicates comparisons. In the United...