Home› California› Bellflower
2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Bellflower, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Bellflower responded to 211 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A+ Peak yr 2021 Los Angeles County 78,352 residents 0 reporting departments 1,060 5-yr
Total incidents
211
+19.2% vs 2024
Building fires
13
Residential 62% Other 38%
Property loss
$920K
$711K structure · $209K 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 55% of all calls.

211
Total Incidents
Outside rubbish fire, other 34 16.1%
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire 25 11.8%
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other 23 10.9%
Trash or rubbish fire, contained 19 9.0%
Cooking fire, confined to container 16 7.6%
All other categories 94 44.5%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

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

Jan 29
Feb 11
Mar 16
Apr 16
May 15
Jun 10
Jul 23
Aug 23
Sep 14
Oct 18
Nov 17
Dec 19
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Bellflower

1,060 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $3.9M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 289 —
2022 168 -41.9%
2023 215 +28.0%
2024 177 -17.7%
2025 211 +19.2%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 13 building fires Bellflower departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
57%
29
Cause undetermined
20%
10
Intentional / arson
10%
5
Equipment / heat source failure
12%
6
Under investigation
2%
1
Act of nature (lightning)
-1%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Bellflower?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 250 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 59 23.6%
2 Undetermined 28 11.2%
3 Outside area, other 19 7.6%
4 Vehicle area, other 16 6.4%
5 Other 13 5.2%
6 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 13 5.2%
7 Cooking area, kitchen 11 4.4%
8 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 9 3.6%
9 Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. 9 3.6%
10 Highway, parking lot, street: on or near 8 3.2%
11 All other areas 65 26.0%
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 Bellflower mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 55 22.0%
2 Arcing 43 17.2%
3 Heat from powered equipment, other 38 15.2%
4 Heat source: other 35 14.0%
5 Hot or smoldering object, other 19 7.6%
6 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 15 6.0%
7 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 8 3.2%
8 Heat, spark from friction 6 2.4%
9 Heat from other open flame or smoking materials 6 2.4%
10 Incendiary device 4 1.6%
11 All other sources 21 8.4%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $655K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bellflower departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 92% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $250,000 Building fires Major Investigated
2 $100,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
3 $100,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
4 $100,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
5 $75,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
6 $10,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
7 $10,000 Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other Significant Investigated
8 $10,000 Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other Significant Investigated
05 How Bellflower compares

Bellflower vs California vs the nation

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

2.69
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Bellflower
2.69
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.17
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Bellflower
0.17
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Bellflower
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Bellflower

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,043,049 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 24.7 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 115,997 26.7 mi
2003 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 108,204 46.2 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 96,949 40.8 mi
2003 Arson/incendiarism 59,788 41.7 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 41,432 40.6 mi
2007 Misuse of fire by a minor 38,356 45.5 mi
1993 Arson/incendiarism 38,152 46.6 mi
2002 Arson/incendiarism 37,240 30.6 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 36,274 46.0 mi
2008 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 30,305 22.3 mi
2007 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 28,476 28.2 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Bellflower do fires concentrate?

Top 6 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 90706 969
2 90805 35
3 90650 29
4 90242 23
5 90723 3
6 90703 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Bellflower

Six California cities with population within ±25% of Bellflower. 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.