In 2025, fire departments serving Buckner responded to 61 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
272 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.2M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33 | — | |
| 2022 | 64 | +93.9% | |
| 2023 | 55 | -14.1% | |
| 2024 | 59 | +7.3% | |
| 2025 | 61 | +3.4% |
For the 9 building fires Buckner departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 42 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 | 13 | 31.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Other | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 16.7% |
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 Buckner mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Buckner departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | 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 | $10,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,500 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Buckner sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,763 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 902 | 32.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 750 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 350 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 34.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 292 | 21.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 40.9 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 Missouri cities with population within ±25% of Buckner. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Buckner.
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.