In 2025, fire departments serving Blaine responded to 144 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $600K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 58% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
776 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.1M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 166 | — | |
| 2022 | 143 | -13.9% | |
| 2023 | 195 | +36.4% | |
| 2024 | 128 | -34.4% | |
| 2025 | 144 | +12.5% |
For the 9 building fires Blaine departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 162 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 | Undetermined | 52 | 32.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 6.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 11 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 8 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 6 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 42 | 25.9% |
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 Blaine mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 95 | 58.6% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 10 | 6.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 9 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 6.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Blaine departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $600,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $11,600 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Blaine sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 748 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 25.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 67 | 32.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 61 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 61 | 45.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Fireworks | 50 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 48 | 26.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Natural | 40 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Fireworks | 32 | 24.8 mi | |
| 1993 | Recreation and ceremony | 27 | 27.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 26 | 20.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 7.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 20 | 32.6 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 Washington cities with population within ±25% of Blaine. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Blaine.
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.