In 2025, fire departments serving Bainbridge Island responded to 172 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $18K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
881 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $7.2M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 157 | — | |
| 2022 | 164 | +4.5% | |
| 2023 | 173 | +5.5% | |
| 2024 | 215 | +24.3% | |
| 2025 | 172 | -20.0% |
For the 1 building fires Bainbridge Island departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 104 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 14.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 14 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Other | 9 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 7 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 5.8% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 5.8% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 24 | 23.1% |
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 Bainbridge Island mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 29 | 27.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 22 | 21.2% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 17 | 16.3% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 9.6% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 4.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bainbridge Island departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $18,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bainbridge Island sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 14,091 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,312 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 2,475 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,243 | 26.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Fireworks | 1,100 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 825 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 817 | 29.5 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 594 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 494 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 443 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 385 | 35.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 294 | 26.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 290 | 39.6 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 Washington cities with population within ±25% of Bainbridge Island. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bainbridge Island.
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.