The wealthy in Naples are not immune to natural disasters like hurricanes that plague South Florida. Their homes are just as susceptible to lightning strikes that can cause house fires just the same in Naples as in other Florida homes in lower socio-economic locations.

Not every lightning strike or kitchen mishap that results in a house fire is reported so determining their true number is not possible. So, we must depend upon the number of house fires that were deemed serious enough to warrant a call to the local fire department to gain some insight.

Nationwide, The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) issued a 2019 report based on data collected over five years from 2013 to 2017. The highlights of that report are as follows:

• While only 27% of reported fires occurred in homes, nearly four out of every five (79%) deaths and about ¾ (73%) of reported injuries were the result of house fires.
• An average of 354,400 fires per year, described as “home structure” fires, resulted in a response from U.S. fire departments.
• Over those five years, the number of people who died as a result of a house fire averaged 2,620. The fires caused $6.9 billion in direct property damage each year on average.
• The most common causes were not surprising. Cooking, heating systems, electrical distribution and lighting equipment, intentional fire setting (arson), and smoking headed the list of causes.
• Interestingly, cooking-related home fires were the leading cause and responsible for the most injuries, but smoking was the leading cause of fatalities related to house fires.

To focus on the Naples, Florida area, a good source of information comes from the Greater Naples Fire Rescue District (GNFRD) with their annual report. The 2013 report was not available but the reports for the years 2014 through 2018 are online and can help determine the number of house fires in Naples that can be expected in any year.

The following is a year by year summary of fire-related calls that the GNFRD responded to:

• 2014 – The breakdown of calls is represented by a pie chart of more than 17,000 calls for various reasons. The number of fire calls was 409 but it is not known if these were for home fires or minor brushfires on vacant property or even automobile fires.
• 2015 – Bar graphs were used in this year’s annual report and fires accounted for 357 of about 17,800 calls. Again, it is not known what percentage of these fire responses were from calls to report house fires.
• 2016 – The annual report for this year offered a further breakdown of fire-related calls. The total number was 358 with 111 categorized as wildfires and 71 classifieds as structure fires. Out of the structure fires, 24 were in apartment buildings and only 33 were in private dwellings. The number of total calls jumped to 19,062.
• 2017 – The statistics were reported numerically on a chart the same as in 2016. The number of fire calls was 402 with 53 in private dwellings, 34 in apartments, plus one hotel fire. 20,927 was the total of the responses by GNFRD.
• 2018 – 466 total fire calls were made with a breakdown displayed in a circle chart. 12% (56) were house fires and apartment buildings made up 6% (27). The total responses to calls made to GNFRD were 21,726.

If these numbers continue their trend, an educated guess is between 22,500 and 23,000 total calls and between 60 and 100 house fires for 2019.

Statistics about the number of house fires in any community mean nothing if the fire happens to strike your home. Depending on its severity, the path to recovery from a house fire is a daunting task.

The first thing you should do is reach out to a smoke and fire restoration company in Naples to help you handle everything from dealing with the insurance adjuster to rebuilding the damaged areas. Our top-rated professionals will be at your house to help within one hour if you call (239) 932-3501.

Next, get in touch with your insurance company. Your insurance company will be the main source of funds for a rebuild or repair of your house. It should also pay for replacing lost personal property and additional living expenses (ALE) if the damaged house is not livable. Unlike the commercials, there is not an attractive, nicely dressed person to hand you a big check as you stand over the smoldering embers of your residence. The burden of proving a claim through detailed documentation is on the homeowner and not the insurance company.

You will need to deal with insurance adjusters who come in three types. First is the company adjuster that works exclusively for your insurance company. He or she may be a friendly person but do not doubt that their purpose is to minimize the payout on your claim. The company adjuster will be a different person than the agent who sold you the policy.

The second type of adjuster is the independent adjuster (IA) who works for any insurance company. IA’s are prevalent when major disasters hit and a lot of claims must be processed in a short time,

The third type of adjuster is the Public Adjuster (PA) who bargains a contract with the insured homeowner for a percentage of the settlement. If they increase your claim by 15 or 20% and take a 10% cut of the total as their compensation, then using a PA can be a wise move for a homeowner. For some, not having to deal directly with an insurance company is the main benefit of using a PA.

Some fires are unavoidable. Naples is in the lightning capital of the world so that is an ever-present risk. Other fires can be avoided like a grease fire caused by a distracted, forgetful cook. The best advice is to be prepared by making sure you know what is covered in your insurance company and having an escape plan from your burning house for you and your family. Be sure to change that fire detector battery twice a year when EDT becomes EST and vice versa. Do all you can to avoid being a victim of one of those 60-100 house fires that may occur this year in Naples, Florida.