In 2025, fire departments serving Breaux Bridge responded to 91 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. Breaux Bridge's departments reported 91 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 199 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 56% of all calls.
Jan peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
996 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $149K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 296 | — | |
| 2022* | 0 | — | |
| 2023 | 307 | — | |
| 2024 | 302 | -1.6% | |
| 2025* | 91 | — |
* Well below Breaux Bridge'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 8 building fires Breaux Bridge departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 260 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 | 69 | 26.5% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 66 | 25.4% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 29 | 11.2% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 28 | 10.8% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 24 | 9.2% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 8 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 6 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 3 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 7.3% |
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 Breaux Bridge mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 173 | 66.5% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 20 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 20 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 14 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Radiated heat from another fire | 13 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 6 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 1.5% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 1.2% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 3 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 0.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 0.8% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Breaux Bridge sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,585 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 308 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 230 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 200 | 20.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 192 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 134 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 124 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 93 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 82 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 82 | 39.4 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 Louisiana cities with population within ±25% of Breaux Bridge. 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.