In 2025, fire departments serving Calico Rock responded to 27 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 78% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
112 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $453K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 17 | — | |
| 2022 | 21 | +23.5% | |
| 2023 | 21 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 26 | +23.8% | |
| 2025 | 27 | +3.8% |
For the 3 building fires Calico Rock departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 47 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 | Outside area, other | 17 | 36.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 13 | 27.7% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Structural area, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 8.5% |
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 Calico Rock mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 55.3% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 10.6% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Pipe or cigar | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 6.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Calico Rock departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Calico Rock sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 28,260 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 2,008 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,779 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 1,631 | 22.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,591 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 1,470 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,460 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,350 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,340 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 1,126 | 39.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,063 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,052 | 47.2 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 Arkansas cities with population within ±25% of Calico Rock. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Calico Rock.
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.