In 2025, fire departments serving Burlington responded to 48 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 77% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
349 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $581K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 78 | — | |
| 2022 | 100 | +28.2% | |
| 2023 | 76 | -24.0% | |
| 2024 | 47 | -38.2% | |
| 2025 | 48 | +2.1% |
For the 5 building fires Burlington departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 235 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 164 | 69.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 5.5% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 10 | 4.3% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 10 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 1.7% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 1.3% | |
| 8 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 3 | 1.3% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 3 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 7.7% |
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 Burlington mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hot ember or ash | 62 | 26.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 46 | 19.6% | |
| 3 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 34 | 14.5% | |
| 4 | Match | 22 | 9.4% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 15 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 10 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 6 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 22 | 9.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Burlington departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Burlington sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 148,380 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30,000 | 46.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 23,000 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,000 | 36.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,000 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,000 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,500 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 5,000 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,000 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,500 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,000 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,500 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,500 | 45.8 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 Kansas cities with population within ±25% of Burlington. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Burlington.
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.