In 2025, fire departments serving Carnation responded to 45 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 58% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
206 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $999K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 19 | — | |
| 2022 | 36 | — | |
| 2023 | 57 | +58.3% | |
| 2024 | 49 | -14.0% | |
| 2025 | 45 | -8.2% |
* Well below Carnation'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 4 building fires Carnation departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 36 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 | Other | 6 | 16.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Closet | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 25.0% |
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 Carnation mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 36.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 19.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Carnation departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $7,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Carnation sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 51,592 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Natural | 36,817 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 4,607 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 1,097 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,061 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 969 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 750 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 602 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 550 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 494 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 420 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 360 | 15.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 350 | 44.4 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 Washington cities with population within ±25% of Carnation. 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.