In 2025, fire departments serving Arkadelphia responded to 162 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Aircraft standby lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
867 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $506K cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 197 | — | |
| 2022 | 188 | -4.6% | |
| 2023 | 152 | -19.1% | |
| 2024 | 168 | +10.5% | |
| 2025 | 162 | -3.6% |
For the 12 building fires Arkadelphia departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 243 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 | 63 | 25.9% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 33 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 22 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 19 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 12 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 10 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Other | 6 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 51 | 21.0% |
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 Arkadelphia mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 149 | 61.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 4.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 4.1% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 8 | 3.3% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 7 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 6 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 30 | 12.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Arkadelphia departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,500 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Arkadelphia sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 35,332 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Natural | 8,294 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 5,091 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 3,739 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,070 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,067 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 1,535 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 960 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 933 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 905 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 900 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 852 | 19.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 705 | 47.2 mi |
Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Arkansas cities with population within ±25% of Arkadelphia. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Arkadelphia.
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.