In 2025, fire departments serving Auburn responded to 38 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $331K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 90% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
249 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.5M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 76 | — | |
| 2022 | 36 | -52.6% | |
| 2023 | 52 | +44.4% | |
| 2024 | 47 | -9.6% | |
| 2025 | 38 | -19.1% |
For the 6 building fires Auburn departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 78 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 33 | 42.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 8 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 6 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 7.7% |
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 Auburn mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 29.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 15 | 19.2% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 6.4% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 14.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Auburn departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $331,400 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Auburn sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 83,207 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,000 | 14.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,000 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,000 | 46.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,000 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 5,000 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,000 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,500 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,500 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,500 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,200 | 8.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 21.1 mi |
Top 7 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 Auburn. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Auburn.
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.