In 2025, fire departments serving Caraway responded to 15 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 100% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
95 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 31 | — | |
| 2022 | 13 | -58.1% | |
| 2023 | 18 | +38.5% | |
| 2024 | 18 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 15 | -16.7% |
For the 4 building fires Caraway 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 | 27 | 36.5% | |
| 2 | Other | 17 | 23.0% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Function area, other | 4 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Egress/exit, other | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 10.8% |
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 Caraway mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 48 | 64.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 12 | 16.2% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 1 | 1.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Caraway departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Caraway sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,669 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 316 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 278 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 203 | 30.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 195 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 180 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 159 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 148 | 38.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 139 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 125 | 41.7 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 122 | 46.7 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 Arkansas cities with population within ±25% of Caraway. 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.