In 2025, fire departments serving Captain Cook responded to 20 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $180K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. Captain Cook's departments reported 20 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 35 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Arcing, shorted electrical equipment lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
173 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $822K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57 | — | |
| 2022 | 32 | -43.9% | |
| 2023 | 36 | +12.5% | |
| 2024 | 28 | -22.2% | |
| 2025* | 20 | — |
* Well below Captain Cook's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 1 building fires Captain Cook 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 | Undetermined | 22 | 46.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 6 | 12.8% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 6.4% |
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 Captain Cook mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 36 | 76.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Captain Cook departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $180,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $43,750 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Captain Cook sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 116,269 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25,000 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 18,000 | 29.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,000 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9,138 | 30.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,500 | 28.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,000 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,884 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,572 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,800 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,800 | 33.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,800 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,640 | 30.0 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 Hawaii cities with population within ±25% of Captain Cook. 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.