In 2025, fire departments serving Bourbon responded to 71 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
363 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $709K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57 | — | |
| 2022 | 59 | +3.5% | |
| 2023 | 92 | +55.9% | |
| 2024 | 84 | -8.7% | |
| 2025 | 71 | -15.5% |
For the 17 building fires Bourbon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 168 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 | 37 | 22.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 31 | 18.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 19 | 11.3% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 10.1% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 13 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 10 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 6 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 11.9% |
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 Bourbon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 95 | 56.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 6.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 9 | 5.4% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 7 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Match | 6 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 9.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bourbon departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $120,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bourbon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 21,879 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,761 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,146 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,249 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,026 | 14.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 971 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 12.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 755 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 750 | 33.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 740 | 22.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 730 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 685 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 644 | 34.6 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 Missouri cities with population within ±25% of Bourbon. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bourbon.
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.