In 2025, fire departments serving Alba responded to 10 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $70K 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 90% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
67 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $313K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | — | |
| 2022 | 11 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 20 | +81.8% | |
| 2024 | 15 | -25.0% | |
| 2025 | 10 | -33.3% |
For the 0 building fires Alba departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 15 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 | Undetermined | 9 | 60.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 6.7% |
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 Alba mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 93.3% | |
| 2 | Cigarette | 1 | 6.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Alba departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $70,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $35,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Alba sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 16,137 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,580 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,732 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 1,300 | 37.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 903 | 24.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 876 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 602 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 600 | 15.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 600 | 35.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 595 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 590 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 580 | 41.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 562 | 26.0 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Missouri cities with population within ±25% of Alba. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.