Do Fewer Homes Mean More Fire Risk?

Last year, a devastating and deadly fire in Milwaukee forced residents to confront a painful reality: The places where many people can afford to live are often the least safe. As the United States faces a shortage of millions of homes, new research shows that the path to safer, more affordable housing may lie in modern multifamily buildings that are constructed with fire-resistant materials like sprinkler systems and stronger building codes. In fact, the rate of fire death in modern apartments is one-sixth the rate of single-family houses and older apartment buildings. In this episode of "After the Fact," Pew housing expert Alex Horowitz explains how modern housing design can save lives, and why public misconceptions about density and safety can limit progress. We also travel to Milwaukee to learn from firefighters on the ground about why better policy and smarter construction can help shape safer homes for the future.

You can listen to Do Fewer Homes Mean More Fire Risk? online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Do Fewer Homes Mean More Fire Risk? is an episode from After the Fact by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

This episode is 19:15 long.

This episode was published on Jan 30, 2026.

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