In 2025, fire departments serving Bernice responded to 31 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $28K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Passenger vehicle fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 74% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
156 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $794K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 23 | — | |
| 2022 | 31 | +34.8% | |
| 2023 | 31 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 40 | +29.0% | |
| 2025 | 31 | -22.5% |
For the 1 building fires Bernice departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 100 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 42 | 42.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 25 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 4.0% |
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 Bernice mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 30 | 30.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 22 | 22.0% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 11.0% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 6 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 6.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bernice departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $28,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $24,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,750 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bernice sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 12,468 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,806 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 1,806 | 49.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 929 | 9.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 902 | 15.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 745 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 669 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 632 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 490 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 376 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 345 | 44.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 334 | 38.6 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 Louisiana cities with population within ±25% of Bernice. 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.