In 2025, fire departments serving Baker responded to 141 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 55% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
749 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.5M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 149 | — | |
| 2022 | 126 | -15.4% | |
| 2023 | 182 | +44.4% | |
| 2024 | 151 | -17.0% | |
| 2025 | 141 | -6.6% |
For the 18 building fires Baker departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 247 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 | 38 | 15.4% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 34 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 34 | 13.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 29 | 11.7% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 29 | 11.7% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 7 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Other | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 51 | 20.6% |
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 Baker mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 124 | 50.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 21 | 8.5% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 20 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 13 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 8 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 7 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Match | 5 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 31 | 12.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Baker departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $7,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Baker sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,979 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 4,110 | 46.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 570 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 491 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 408 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 400 | 38.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 260 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 258 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 230 | 21.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 220 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 205 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 200 | 31.8 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 Louisiana cities with population within ±25% of Baker. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Baker.
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.