In 2025, fire departments serving Brinnon responded to 56 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 82% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
286 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $6.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 69 | — | |
| 2022 | 38 | -44.9% | |
| 2023 | 54 | +42.1% | |
| 2024 | 69 | +27.8% | |
| 2025 | 56 | -18.8% |
For the 6 building fires Brinnon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 56 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 | Outside area, other | 16 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 8 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Other | 7 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 10.7% |
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 Brinnon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 29 | 51.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 5.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Brinnon departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,000,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $500,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Brinnon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 17,646 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 | 11.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 2,815 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 2,475 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,243 | 8.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Fireworks | 1,100 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 825 | 26.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 820 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 817 | 11.7 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 594 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 494 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 443 | 11.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 36.9 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 Brinnon. 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.