Home› California› Burbank
2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Burbank, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Burbank responded to 370 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A Peak yr 2022 Los Angeles County 106,389 residents 0 reporting departments 1,942 5-yr
Total incidents
370
+2.8% vs 2024
Building fires
21
Residential 67% Other 33%
Property loss
$2.1M
$1.3M structure · $835K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 46% of all calls.

370
Total Incidents
Hazardous condition, other 61 16.5%
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other 30 8.1%
Power line down 28 7.6%
Flammable gas or liquid condition, other 27 7.3%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 23 6.2%
All other categories 201 54.3%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 96
Feb 26
Mar 25
Apr 29
May 37
Jun 34
Jul 40
Aug 26
Sep 30
Oct 5
Nov 22
Dec 0
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Burbank

1,942 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $10.8M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 369 —
2022 434 +17.6%
2023 409 -5.8%
2024 360 -12.0%
2025 370 +2.8%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 21 building fires Burbank departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
35%
19
Cause undetermined
25%
14
Intentional / arson
2%
1
Equipment / heat source failure
15%
8
Under investigation
24%
13
Act of nature (lightning)
-1%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Burbank?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 338 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 originCountShare 
1 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 57 16.9%
2 Outside area, other 46 13.6%
3 Cooking area, kitchen 32 9.5%
4 Undetermined 25 7.4%
5 Vehicle area, other 19 5.6%
6 Other 17 5.0%
7 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 10 3.0%
8 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 9 2.7%
9 Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace 9 2.7%
10 Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge 8 2.4%
11 All other areas 106 31.4%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 Burbank mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 167 49.4%
2 Heat from powered equipment, other 40 11.8%
3 Arcing 20 5.9%
4 Heat source: other 18 5.3%
5 Hot or smoldering object, other 15 4.4%
6 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 14 4.1%
7 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 13 3.8%
8 Hot ember or ash 10 3.0%
9 Heat from other open flame or smoking materials 8 2.4%
10 Heat, spark from friction 6 1.8%
11 All other sources 27 8.0%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $1.1M in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Burbank departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 86% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $500,000 Building fires Major Investigated
2 $185,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
3 $100,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
4 $100,000 Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire Significant Investigated
5 $60,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
6 $60,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
7 $50,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
8 $40,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
05 How Burbank compares

Burbank vs California vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Burbank sits below the national average for incidents per resident.

3.48
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Burbank
3.48
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.2
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Burbank
0.2
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Burbank
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Burbank

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,576,794 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2017 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 281,893 45.1 mi
2006 Debris and open burning 162,702 39.9 mi
2009 Arson/incendiarism 160,371 8.6 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 115,997 21.2 mi
2003 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 108,204 23.9 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 96,949 21.8 mi
2003 Equipment and vehicle use 63,720 32.3 mi
2003 Arson/incendiarism 59,788 48.2 mi
2007 Power generation/transmission/distribution 45,300 34.1 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 41,432 17.2 mi
2007 Misuse of fire by a minor 38,356 23.3 mi
1993 Arson/incendiarism 38,152 31.1 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Burbank do fires concentrate?

Top 10 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 91505 729
2 91504 348
3 91502 343
4 91506 303
5 91501 176
6 91503 13
7 93536 6
8 91521 5
9 91523 5
10 91522 4
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Burbank

Six California cities with population within ±25% of Burbank. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.