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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Bell, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Bell responded to 61 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $43K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A+ Peak yr 2021 Los Angeles County 33,377 residents 0 reporting departments 482 5-yr
Total incidents
61
-29.9% vs 2024
Building fires
6
Residential 67% Other 33%
Property loss
$85K
$73K structure · $12K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Outside rubbish fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.

61
Total Incidents
Outside rubbish fire, other 22 36.1%
Building fires 6 9.8%
Trash or rubbish fire, contained 6 9.8%
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other 5 8.2%
Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire 4 6.6%
All other categories 18 29.5%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Jul peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 3
Feb 6
Mar 3
Apr 7
May 6
Jun 0
Jul 13
Aug 9
Sep 2
Oct 7
Nov 3
Dec 2
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Bell

482 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $2.9M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 131 —
2022 83 -36.6%
2023 120 +44.6%
2024 87 -27.5%
2025 61 -29.9%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 6 building fires Bell departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
67%
8
Cause undetermined
17%
2
Intentional / arson
8%
1
Equipment / heat source failure
0%
0
Under investigation
8%
1
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Bell?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 77 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 originCountShare 
1 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 17 22.1%
2 Undetermined 9 11.7%
3 Outside area, other 5 6.5%
4 Other 4 5.2%
5 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 4 5.2%
6 Structural area, other 4 5.2%
7 Corridor, mall 3 3.9%
8 Wall surface: exterior 3 3.9%
9 Roof surface: exterior 3 3.9%
10 Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles 3 3.9%
11 All other areas 22 28.6%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 Bell mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 20 26.0%
2 Heat from powered equipment, other 13 16.9%
3 Heat source: other 12 15.6%
4 Arcing 10 13.0%
5 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 6 7.8%
6 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 4 5.2%
7 Hot or smoldering object, other 2 2.6%
8 Explosive, fireworks, other 2 2.6%
9 Heat from other open flame or smoking materials 2 2.6%
10 Heat from undetermined smoking material 2 2.6%
11 All other sources 4 5.2%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $72K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bell departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $42,500 Building fires Significant Investigated
2 $20,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
3 $4,000 Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other Significant Investigated
4 $2,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
5 $1,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
6 $1,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
7 $500 Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire Significant Investigated
8 $500 Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire Significant Investigated
05 How Bell compares

Bell vs California vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bell sits below the national average for incidents per resident.

1.83
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Bell
1.83
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.18
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Bell
0.18
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Bell
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Bell

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,128,144 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2009 Arson/incendiarism 160,371 18.1 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 115,997 22.4 mi
2003 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 108,204 39.5 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 96,949 34.7 mi
2003 Equipment and vehicle use 63,720 48.2 mi
2003 Arson/incendiarism 59,788 42.0 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 41,432 33.6 mi
2007 Misuse of fire by a minor 38,356 38.6 mi
1993 Arson/incendiarism 38,152 41.4 mi
2002 Arson/incendiarism 37,240 28.3 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 36,274 45.4 mi
2008 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 30,305 26.3 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Bell do fires concentrate?

Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 90201 446
2 90040 10
3 90058 10
4 90255 9
5 90270 7
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Bell

Six California cities with population within ±25% of Bell. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.