In 2025, fire departments serving Bourg responded to 15 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $120K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. Bourg's departments reported 15 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 38 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 80% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
189 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $654K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59 | — | |
| 2022 | 45 | -23.7% | |
| 2023* | 16 | — | |
| 2024 | 54 | — | |
| 2025* | 15 | — |
* Well below Bourg's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 1 building fires Bourg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 44 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 | 15 | 34.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 15.9% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 9.1% |
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 Bourg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 52.3% | |
| 2 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 6 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 1 | 2.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bourg departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $120,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $250 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bourg sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 10 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,660 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Natural | 893 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 614 | 11.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 47 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 19 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 19 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 16 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 15 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 15 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 12 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 48.4 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 Bourg. 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.