Warehouse fires can damage buildings, stock and equipment while disrupting deliveries and customer orders. Large storage areas, combustible goods, high racking and intensive electrical use can help a fire spread extensively. This guide brings together the latest Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) figures for England on industrial fires, recorded ignition sources and factory and warehouse fire safety audits, alongside guidance on prevention, business continuity and sprinklers.
Updated 15 October 2026. Statistics cover England, 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. Industrial fire figures include warehouses and other industrial premises; audit figures group factories and warehouses together.
Key facts and figures
- 1,806 fires in industrial premises in England in 2025/26, including warehouses and other industrial buildings.
- 13,679 fires in the broader other-building category in England in 2025/26, including commercial and industrial premises.
- 17% of other-building fires had electrical distribution recorded as the ignition source — 2,304 incidents in England in 2025/26.
- 210 other-building fires involved blowlamps, welding or cutting equipment as the ignition source in England in 2025/26.
- 3,486 fire safety audits were completed at factories and warehouses in England in 2025/26.
- 61% of factory and warehouse audits were satisfactory — 2,141 of 3,486 audits in England in 2025/26.
Warehouse fires: high value, high risk
Fire and rescue services attended 1,806 fires in industrial premises in England in 2025/26. The industrial category includes manufacturing, processing, vehicle repair and warehouses or bulk storage, so it is wider than warehouses alone. Across the broader other-building category, there were 13,679 fires.
The combination of large floor areas, densely stored combustible goods and high racking can allow warehouse fires to spread extensively. Damage to stock, equipment and buildings can interrupt deliveries and trading, making prevention, early detection and suitable fire protection important to business continuity.
Warehouse fire causes
Warehouse fire risk depends on the goods stored, the building and its operations. The hazards to assess include:
- Electrical distribution. Electrical distribution was the recorded ignition source in 2,304 other-building fires in England in 2025/26 (17%), the largest specified ignition-source category. This covers other buildings generally, rather than warehouses alone. Electrical installations, conveyors, lighting and charging equipment should be considered in a warehouse fire risk assessment.
- Hot work. Welding, cutting and grinding can produce sparks that ignite combustible materials. In England in 2025/26, 210 other-building fires had blowlamps, welding or cutting equipment recorded as the ignition source. This category does not count every form of hot work. Suitable precautions include controlling combustible materials and using a hot-work permit system.
- Forklift trucks and battery charging. Conventional charging generates hydrogen gas in poorly ventilated areas. Lithium-ion equipment introduces thermal runaway risk — fires that begin inside the battery, resist suppression and can reignite after apparent extinguishment.
- Arson. Unsecured storage areas, perimeter weaknesses and accessible combustible materials can create opportunities for deliberate fire-setting. Physical security and careful storage and waste management help reduce the risk.
- Goods in storage. Aerosols, solvents, chemicals, timber, paper, textiles and plastics each burn differently and need to be individually assessed and managed.
Why warehouse fires are so costly
Several structural characteristics make warehouse fires particularly expensive:
- Scale. Modern distribution warehouses are among the largest buildings in the UK building stock. Without adequate compartmentation or suppression, a fire can expand rapidly to enormous proportions.
- Racking and vertical fire spread. High racking can provide a path for fire to spread upwards through stored goods.
- Value density. A distribution centre can hold a large quantity of valuable stock in one space, increasing the potential loss from a fire.
- Business interruption. Fires disrupt entire supply chains — customers face shortages, contracts fail, supplier relationships suffer and lost revenue during reconstruction can exceed the physical losses.
- Suppression challenges. A developing warehouse fire may quickly exceed the safe scope of portable extinguishers. Appropriate detection, compartmentation and suppression measures can help limit its spread.
The financial impact extends beyond repairing the building and replacing stock. Temporary premises, damaged equipment, interrupted deliveries and lost trading time can all add to the cost. The potential loss depends on the warehouse’s contents, operations and recovery arrangements.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Industrial-premises fires, England (2025/26) | 1,806 |
| Other-building fires, England (2025/26) | 13,679 |
| Other-building fires involving electrical distribution, England (2025/26) | 2,304 (17%) |
| Other-building fires involving blowlamps, welding or cutting equipment, England (2025/26) | 210 |
| Factory and warehouse fire safety audits, England (2025/26) | 3,486 |
| Satisfactory factory and warehouse audits, England (2025/26) | 2,141 (61%) |
| Unsatisfactory factory and warehouse audits, England (2025/26) | 1,345 (39%) |
The sprinkler gap
Automatic sprinklers can help control a fire before it spreads extensively, protecting people, property and business operations. The National Fire Chiefs Council supports sprinklers as part of an overall fire safety solution in new and existing buildings, including risk-assessed retrofitting.
The case for installing or retrofitting sprinklers depends on the building, stored goods and fire risks, alongside installation and maintenance costs and the potential interruption to trading. Suitable systems need appropriate design, installation, testing and maintenance, with their suitability reviewed when storage arrangements or building use change.
Legal obligations for warehouse fire safety
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the Responsible Person for a warehouse must:
- Carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment addressing warehouse-specific hazards.
- Put in place and maintain appropriate fire precautions — detection systems, suppression systems, escape routes and fire doors.
- Provide fire safety information and training to all employees.
- Designate and train fire marshals proportionate to the scale and occupancy of the premises.
- Keep records of all fire safety activities and equipment testing.
Additional requirements apply under the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR) for warehouses storing certain categories of hazardous goods. In England in 2025/26, 2,141 of 3,486 factory and warehouse fire safety audits were satisfactory (61%); 1,345 (39%) required further action. These figures describe completed audits, with premises selected according to local risk, rather than the compliance rate of all warehouses.
Make sure your warehouse has trained fire marshals in place.
Explore the Fire Warden / Fire Marshal Course →Sources & references
- MHCLG FIRE0301 — fires by building type, England, 2025/26 (Excel)
- MHCLG FIRE0602 — fires by ignition source, England, 2025/26 (Excel)
- MHCLG FIRE1202 — fire safety audits, England, 2025/26 (Excel)
- MHCLG — detailed analysis of fires, year ending March 2026
- MHCLG — fire prevention and protection statistics, April 2025 to March 2026
- National Fire Chiefs Council — automatic water suppression systems
- Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 — legislation as made
- Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR) — legislation
Mark writes about workplace fire safety, compliance and online training for Fire Marshal Training, part of Online CPD Academy.