In 2025, fire departments serving Buckley responded to 140 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 54% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
632 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.5M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 117 | — | |
| 2022 | 116 | -0.9% | |
| 2023 | 119 | +2.6% | |
| 2024 | 140 | +17.6% | |
| 2025 | 140 | +0.0% |
For the 21 building fires Buckley departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 156 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 | 35 | 22.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 21 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 9.6% | |
| 5 | Other | 12 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 31 | 19.9% |
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 Buckley mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 69 | 44.2% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 21 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 12 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 15 | 9.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Buckley departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 90% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Buckley sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 74,087 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52,056 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 5,428 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 3,853 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 1,700 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 1,200 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,061 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 969 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 780 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 750 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 588 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 564 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 540 | 44.1 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 98321 | 632 |
Six Washington cities with population within ±25% of Buckley. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Buckley.
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.