In 2025, fire departments serving Avondale responded to 70 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $81K 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 61% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
468 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $734K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 108 | — | |
| 2022 | 108 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 67 | -38.0% | |
| 2024 | 115 | +71.6% | |
| 2025 | 70 | -39.1% |
For the 15 building fires Avondale departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 74 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 | 16 | 21.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 10 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 8 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 6 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 18.9% |
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 Avondale mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 40 | 54.1% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 9.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 5.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Avondale departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $80,640 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $60,730 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Avondale sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 18,001 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,922 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 1,507 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 1,500 | 20.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 893 | 11.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 886 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 798 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 725 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 641 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 614 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 600 | 43.4 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 Louisiana cities with population within ±25% of Avondale. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Avondale.
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.