In 2025, fire departments serving Abilene responded to 142 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 72% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
758 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 96 | — | |
| 2022 | 135 | +40.6% | |
| 2023 | 209 | +54.8% | |
| 2024 | 176 | -15.8% | |
| 2025 | 142 | -19.3% |
For the 17 building fires Abilene departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 156 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 22 | 14.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 20 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 18 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 17 | 10.9% | |
| 5 | Other | 12 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 43 | 27.6% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Abilene mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 59 | 37.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 19 | 12.2% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 28 | 17.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Abilene departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $14,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $6,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Abilene sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 88,635 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,000 | 20.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,500 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,289 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,278 | 28.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,000 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,000 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,800 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,840 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,500 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,500 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,200 | 21.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 45.6 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Kansas cities with population within ±25% of Abilene. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Abilene.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.