In 2025, fire departments serving Bellevue responded to 36 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 86% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
187 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $98K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 23 | — | |
| 2022 | 59 | +156.5% | |
| 2023 | 45 | -23.7% | |
| 2024 | 24 | -46.7% | |
| 2025 | 36 | +50.0% |
For the 0 building fires Bellevue departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 44 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 | 8 | 18.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 15.9% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 5 | 11.4% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 25.0% |
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 Bellevue mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 27 | 61.4% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Sunlight | 1 | 2.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bellevue departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bellevue sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 773 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 125 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 57 | 15.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 14.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 45 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 45 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 30 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 28.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 8.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 20.3 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 Kentucky cities with population within ±25% of Bellevue. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.