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In 2025, fire departments serving Boring responded to 88 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K 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 72% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
320 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $594K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 80 | — | |
| 2022 | 52 | -35.0% | |
| 2023 | 43 | -17.3% | |
| 2024 | 57 | +32.6% | |
| 2025 | 88 | +54.4% |
For the 4 building fires Boring departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 58 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 | 14 | 24.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 11 | 19.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 13.8% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 4 | 6.9% | |
| 7 | Other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 8.6% |
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 Boring mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 39.7% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 6.9% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 10.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Boring departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $60,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $26,690 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Self-propelled motor home or recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Boring sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 492,929 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 193,573 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 138,054 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Fireworks | 48,488 | 26.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 24,995 | 39.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Smoking | 24,400 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 17,442 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 7,500 | 14.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 6,304 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 6,103 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,508 | 18.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 3,280 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 2,810 | 42.3 mi |
Top 7 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Oregon cities with population within ±25% of Boring. 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.