Jamaica fires caused nearly $10 billion in property loss in 2025, says PIOJ

Jamaica experienced a significant increase in fire incidents and property loss in 2025, with bush fires driving the surge. The Jamaica Fire Brigade reported a 26% rise in calls for bush fires, which constituted 51% of all incidents.

Property loss due to fires was estimated at $9.9 billion, representing 2.2% of the total property value at risk, according to the Planning Institute of Jamaica's (PIOJ) 2025 Economic and Social Survey. The number of genuine fire calls responded to by the fire services increased by 13% compared to 2024, with St. Catherine and Kingston and St. Andrew recording the highest numbers.

The number of individuals directly impacted by fires also rose by 12.8% to 1,965, marking the second consecutive year of increase. This rise was mainly attributed to a 15% increase in individuals rendered homeless. Civilian adults formed the majority of those affected, while children made up 26.1%.

Despite the overall increase in incidents, fire-related deaths declined for the second consecutive year, totaling 19. Non-structural fires, including bush and refuse site fires, dominated the statistics, increasing by 16.2%. Structural fires, however, saw a slight decrease of 3.1%.

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The rise was primarily due to a 15.0 per cent increase in the number of individuals rendered homeless.