In 2025, fire departments serving Brazil responded to 180 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 65% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,138 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $4.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 162 | — | |
| 2022 | 204 | +25.9% | |
| 2023 | 276 | +35.3% | |
| 2024 | 316 | +14.5% | |
| 2025 | 180 | -43.0% |
For the 43 building fires Brazil departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 206 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 | 68 | 33.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 26 | 12.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 9 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 8 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 7 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 7 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 7 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 6 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 6 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 51 | 24.8% |
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 Brazil mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 100 | 48.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 24 | 11.7% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 17 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 6.3% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 10 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 8 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 6.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Brazil departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 88% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $95,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $55,600 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $54,900 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $40,000 | Building or structure weakened or collapsed | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Brazil sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 15 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 487 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 17.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 16.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 4.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 23.5 mi | |
| 1998 | Debris and open burning | 22 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 20 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 20 | 28.6 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 20 | 40.4 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 25.3 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 Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Brazil. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Brazil.
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.