In 2025, fire departments serving Caney responded to 35 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 63% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
199 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $596K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49 | — | |
| 2022 | 55 | +12.2% | |
| 2023 | 31 | -43.6% | |
| 2024 | 29 | -6.5% | |
| 2025 | 35 | +20.7% |
For the 6 building fires Caney departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 74 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 | 34 | 45.9% | |
| 2 | Other | 9 | 12.2% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 12.2% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Interior stairway or ramp | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Assembly area - less than 100 persons | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 8.1% |
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 Caney mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 63 | 85.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Candle | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 1.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Caney departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Caney sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 250,070 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25,650 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 22,787 | 16.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 20,307 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 17,683 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 14,910 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 14,000 | 9.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 12,468 | 13.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,000 | 18.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,000 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 11,258 | 24.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 9,077 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 8,000 | 12.5 mi |
Top 4 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 Caney. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Caney.
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.