In 2025, fire departments serving Bellevue responded to 44 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $40K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Carbon monoxide incident lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
243 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48 | — | |
| 2022 | 51 | +6.2% | |
| 2023 | 49 | -3.9% | |
| 2024 | 51 | +4.1% | |
| 2025 | 44 | -13.7% |
For the 4 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 93 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 | 29 | 31.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 10 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 20.4% |
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 | 33 | 35.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 12 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 8 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 12 | 12.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bellevue departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | 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. 3,148 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 385 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 366 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 320 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 275 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 215 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 133 | 42.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 100 | 27.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 85 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 75 | 37.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 65 | 29.0 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 Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Bellevue. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bellevue.
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.