In 2025, fire departments serving Atoka responded to 91 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $120K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Forest, woods or wildland fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 58% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
561 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 145 | — | |
| 2022 | 146 | +0.7% | |
| 2023 | 93 | -36.3% | |
| 2024 | 86 | -7.5% | |
| 2025 | 91 | +5.8% |
For the 10 building fires Atoka departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 164 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 | 45 | 27.4% | |
| 2 | Vehicle area, other | 14 | 8.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 9 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 7 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 7 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 40 | 24.4% |
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 Atoka mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 94 | 57.3% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 21 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 12 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 6 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 0.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 1.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Atoka departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 93% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $120,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $14,405 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Atoka sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 109,168 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 10,000 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 9,500 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,750 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,400 | 19.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,700 | 9.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,200 | 39.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,120 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,900 | 18.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,700 | 15.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 4,220 | 39.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,000 | 19.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,000 | 38.2 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 Oklahoma cities with population within ±25% of Atoka. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Atoka.
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.