In 2025, fire departments serving Axtell responded to 12 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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.
Mar peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
58 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $627K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 8 | — | |
| 2022 | 21 | +162.5% | |
| 2023 | 11 | -47.6% | |
| 2024* | 6 | — | |
| 2025 | 12 | — |
* Well below Axtell's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 4 building fires Axtell departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 40 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 | 14 | 35.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 17.5% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Other | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Structural area, other | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 7.5% |
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 Axtell mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 27.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 7.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Axtell departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $12,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Axtell sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,222 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 1,520 | 20.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 1,500 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,100 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 640 | 14.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 600 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 500 | 30.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 480 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 440 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 32.3 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Nebraska cities with population within ±25% of Axtell. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Axtell.
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.