In 2025, fire departments serving Ash Grove responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 83% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
79 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | — | |
| 2022 | 20 | +81.8% | |
| 2023 | 10 | -50.0% | |
| 2024 | 20 | +100.0% | |
| 2025 | 18 | -10.0% |
For the 5 building fires Ash Grove departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 11 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 | 4 | 36.4% | |
| 2 | Other | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 7 | Multiple areas | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 1 | 9.1% |
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 Ash Grove mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 4 | 36.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 2 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 7 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 9.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ash Grove departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ash Grove sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 18,613 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,121 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,732 | 14.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,212 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,016 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,005 | 45.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 790 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 772 | 14.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 723 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 707 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 678 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 631 | 49.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 613 | 46.2 mi |
Top 6 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 Ash Grove. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ash Grove.
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.