Cooking safety includes two different but connected risks: physical injury from kitchen fires and illness from contaminated or undercooked food. In the United States, residential cooking fires caused an estimated 125 deaths and 2,500 injuries in 2023, while longstanding CDC estimates put the annual foodborne-illness burden at 48 million illnesses.
Contents
- U.S. cooking-fire losses
- How cooking fires begin
- When cooking-fire harm is greatest
- The foodborne-illness burden
- What people believe about food safety
- Handwashing and thermometer habits
U.S. cooking-fire losses
The U.S. Fire Administration estimated 167,800 residential building cooking fires in 2023. Those fires caused an estimated 125 deaths, 2,500 injuries, and $572.7 million in dollar loss. The figures describe residential building fires, so they are not a count of every cooking-related incident in every setting. U.S. Fire Administration, “Residential Building Cooking Fire Trends (2014-2023)”
The longer trend was downward from 2014 through 2023. Residential building cooking fires decreased 11%, cooking-fire deaths decreased 49%, cooking-fire injuries decreased 37%, and dollar loss decreased 15% after adjustment to 2023 dollars. These are changes over the stated decade, not a forecast of future fire activity. U.S. Fire Administration, “Residential Building Cooking Fire Trends (2014-2023)”
The 2023 estimates show why frequency and severity need to be considered separately. Fires were numerous, while deaths, injuries, and financial losses describe different consequences. A reduction in the number of fires does not mean that every remaining fire is minor, and the inflation-adjusted dollar-loss comparison is specifically expressed in 2023 dollars.
For a separate multi-year comparison, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimated an average of 158,400 reported home cooking fires per year during 2017–2021. Its average annual estimates for that period were 470 civilian deaths, 4,150 civilian injuries, and $1.15 billion in direct property damage. The USFA and NFPA figures cover different periods and use different reporting descriptions, so they should not be treated as a single time series. NFPA, “Home Cooking Fires”
How cooking fires begin
Cooking represented 44% of reported U.S. home fires in the NFPA analysis for 2017–2021. It represented 42% of reported home-fire injuries and 18% of reported home-fire deaths. This makes cooking a particularly important part of household fire prevention, even though the share varies by outcome. NFPA, “Home Cooking Fires”
Ranges or cooktops were involved in 53% of reported home cooking fires, 88% of cooking-fire deaths, and 74% of cooking-fire injuries in 2017–2021. The large difference between the fire share and the death share identifies the range or cooktop as a central point for attention when cooking is underway. NFPA, “Home Cooking Fires”
Unattended equipment was a contributing factor in 28% of reported home cooking fires and 48% of home cooking-fire deaths. Cooking materials such as food, fat, and grease were first ignited in 66% of reported home cooking fires. Among cooking-material home fires, oil, fat, grease, and related substances were first ignited in 51%; oil or grease fires accounted for 53% of civilian deaths associated with cooking-material or food ignition. NFPA, “Home Cooking Fires”
| NFPA measure, 2017–2021 | Share |
|---|---|
| Cooking fires involving ranges or cooktops | 53% |
| Cooking-fire deaths involving ranges or cooktops | 88% |
| Fires with unattended equipment as a factor | 28% |
| Cooking fires first igniting food, fat, or grease | 66% |
Clothing was first ignited in less than 1% of reported home cooking fires but was associated with 7% of cooking-fire deaths. That contrast is another reminder that the most common ignition pattern and the most severe outcome pattern are not identical. NFPA, “Home Cooking Fires”
When cooking-fire harm is greatest
Four out of five, or 80%, of reported home cooking fires were confined to the object or pan of origin in 2017–2021. Small fires confined to the object or pan caused 4% of cooking-fire deaths and 35% of cooking-fire injuries. In the same analysis, 97% of reported home cooking fires were confined to the room where they began. NFPA, “Home Cooking Fires”
Timing also mattered. Cooking-fire injuries peaked between 5:00 and 8:00 p.m. Seventeen percent of cooking fires occurred from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., but that period accounted for 19% of cooking-fire deaths. The percentages describe the NFPA’s 2017–2021 analysis and should not be read as a current hourly forecast. NFPA, “Home Cooking Fires”
Thanksgiving averaged 1,470 reported home cooking fires during 2017–2021, which was 240% above the average daily number. People aged 55 or older accounted for 58% of cooking-fire deaths. People aged 85 or older had a cooking-fire death risk 5.5 times the overall population risk in that analysis. NFPA, “Home Cooking Fires”
The foodborne-illness burden
Cooking safety also involves preventing illness. The CDC’s foodborne-illness burden estimates, based on 2011 analysis, say that 48 million people in the United States get sick from foodborne diseases each year. The same estimate includes 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths annually, summarized by CDC as roughly 1 in 6 people. These are annual burden estimates from the stated analysis year, not a measurement of every illness in 2026. CDC, “Burden of Foodborne Illness: Overview”
CDC estimated that 9.4 million U.S. illnesses annually were caused by 31 known foodborne pathogens. The broader 48-million estimate includes the total annual burden described by CDC, while the pathogen-specific figure covers the stated group of known pathogens. CDC, “Burden of Foodborne Illness: Overview”
More recent FoodNet surveillance provides a different kind of evidence. In preliminary 2024 data, FoodNet sites reported 24,624 infections, 6,746 hospitalizations, and 178 deaths across a surveillance area representing about 51 million people. Of the reported infections, 20,693, or 84%, were acquired domestically. Domestic infections accounted for 6,201, or 92%, of hospitalizations and 164, or 92%, of deaths. These are reported surveillance counts from the FoodNet area, not national estimates. CDC, “FoodNet 2024 Preliminary Data”
FoodNet also reported 46 postdiarrheal hemolytic uremic syndrome cases among people younger than 18 in preliminary 2023 data, including 24 cases among children younger than 5. CDC, “FoodNet 2024 Preliminary Data”
What people believe about food safety
The FDA’s 2019 survey of U.S. adults found that 15% considered food poisoning from food prepared at home very common, compared with 29% for restaurant-prepared food. Perceptions of contamination varied by food: 93% said raw chicken was likely or highly likely to have germs, compared with 66% for raw beef, 9% for raw vegetables, and 6% for fruit. FDA, “2019 Food Safety and Nutrition Survey Report”
| Survey response, U.S. adults | 2019 result |
|---|---|
| Said raw chicken was likely or highly likely to have germs | 93% |
| Said raw beef was likely or highly likely to have germs | 66% |
| Said raw vegetables were likely or highly likely to have germs | 9% |
| Said fruit was likely or highly likely to have germs | 6% |
These results describe beliefs and reported behavior, not laboratory measurements of contamination. They show that people reported seeing raw chicken and beef as more likely to carry germs than raw vegetables or fruit, while the FDA survey’s home-versus-restaurant question measured perceived commonness of food poisoning.
Handwashing and thermometer habits
In the FDA’s 2019 survey, 76% of U.S. adults reported washing their hands with soap after touching raw meat, and 68% reported washing with soap before preparing food. The reported figure was lower after cracking raw eggs: 39%. FDA, “2019 Food Safety and Nutrition Survey Report”
Food thermometer ownership was reported by 62% of U.S. adults. Among thermometer owners who cooked the food, use varied by food type:
- 85% reported using a thermometer for whole chickens.
- 79% reported using one for beef, lamb, or pork roasts.
- 40% reported using one for chicken parts.
- 36% reported using one for burgers.
- 23% reported using one for egg dishes.
- 20% reported using one for frozen meals.
The denominator matters: these use percentages were among thermometer owners who cooked the particular food, not among all U.S. adults. They also come from self-reported 2019 survey responses. FDA, “2019 Food Safety and Nutrition Survey Report”
Together, the handwashing and thermometer results describe two practical parts of home cooking safety: reducing transfer from raw foods and checking doneness with a measuring tool. The statistics show uneven reported adoption across foods, with thermometer use highest for whole chickens and lowest for frozen meals in the surveyed categories.