The United States already has one of the highest direct fire loss rates among developed nations, and progress in reducing this tremendous burden is slowing.

Fires claim more than 3,000 lives a year, injure more than 90,000 firefighters and civilians, and impose costs and losses totaling more than $300 billion—equivalent to about 2 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product.

Fire researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) believe that the devastating annual toll can be significantly reduced during the next two decades. Even better, they have a plan that prioritizes and details the research and other work needed to enable that goal.

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