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Data-transparency finding · 254 counties

Texas

Not scored — records request needed

The State Fire Marshal's county fire-death table was discontinued after 2016, and the only current county-level option (vital statistics) is small-count suppressed across Texas's many rural counties.

This is not a fire-safety ranking. Texas is not scored because the public data needed to score it fairly is not yet available — this reflects data publication, not the state’s fire outcomes or the quality of its fire service. The Fireground Index only publishes a score when a state’s data clears a strict public-source standard.

Why this state isn't scored

The Fireground Index scores one comparable metric — the civilian fire-death rate — computed from exact per-county death counts and Census population. For Texas, no public source provides those counts completely and unsuppressed for all 254 counties. Rather than publish estimated, partial, or suppressed figures, the state is shown here transparently.

Sources checked

Public sources evaluated for Texas and what each provided.
SourceWhat it provides
TDI State Fire Marshal “Fires in Texas”County fire-death table discontinued after 2016; even then only 57 of 254 counties.
NASFM Fire Fatality Data Hub — TexasFeatureServer exists but has 0 records (Texas not participating).
TX DSHS Texas Health Data / CDC WONDERSuppress counts 1–9; most rural counties blanked.

What failed the source gate

Every state must clear this public-source standard before it is scored:

  • Public & authoritative (a state fire-marshal / fire-agency or primary record)
  • County-level (or the jurisdiction's county-equivalents)
  • Civilian fire deaths, incident-based (counted where the fire occurred; firefighter line-of-duty excluded)
  • Exact counts — not rates, not statistically suppressed small cells
  • All counties present, with zero-death counties verifiable (not ambiguous omission)
  • A recent 5-year window, or a best-available clearly-labeled window

Not met for Texas:

  • A recent, complete county table (latest is 2016, 57/254)
  • Unsuppressed exact counts
  • All 254 counties present

What data would unlock scoring

A complete 254-county civilian fire-death table for a recent 5-year window (2020–2024), incident-based, with explicit zeros.

Could a records request unlock it?

Likely yes. A records request for the TEXFIRS/NERIS per-county fire-fatality table, or Texas populating its NASFM hub layer, would unlock scoring.

Relevant office: Texas Dept of Insurance — State Fire Marshal's Office (Tex. Gov. Code §417.0052)

Have this data? Help make Texas scoreable.

If you work with a state fire marshal’s office, fire-service data program, or public-health agency and can share a complete, per-county civilian fire-death dataset, we will evaluate it against the public-source standard and — if it qualifies — publish a fully-cited scorecard for Texas.

Contact the Fireground team (opens in a new tab)