In 2025, fire departments serving Burrton responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K 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 68% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
183 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $876K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 37 | — | |
| 2022 | 55 | +48.6% | |
| 2023 | 23 | -58.2% | |
| 2024 | 40 | +73.9% | |
| 2025 | 28 | -30.0% |
For the 2 building fires Burrton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 27 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 | 7 | 25.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 14.8% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 7.4% |
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 Burrton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 51.9% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Burrton departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Burrton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 133,201 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16,000 | 20.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14,000 | 2.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,700 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,800 | 2.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,000 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,400 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,000 | 42.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,000 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,500 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,000 | 40.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,960 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,945 | 4.4 mi |
Top 3 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 Burrton. 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.