In 2025, fire departments serving Brier responded to 24 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
113 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $633K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | — | |
| 2022 | 21 | -12.5% | |
| 2023 | 23 | +9.5% | |
| 2024 | 21 | -8.7% | |
| 2025 | 24 | +14.3% |
For the 0 building fires Brier departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 23 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 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 21.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 5 | 21.7% | |
| 3 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 6 | Other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Outside area, other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 8.7% |
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 Brier mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 56.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Match | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 4.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Brier sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,938 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,312 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,243 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 817 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 494 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 443 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 360 | 33.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 294 | 40.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 290 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 289 | 30.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 225 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 200 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 170 | 45.1 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 Washington cities with population within ±25% of Brier. 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.