In 2025, fire departments serving Carrollton responded to 153 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Aircraft standby lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
795 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.8M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 161 | — | |
| 2022 | 137 | -14.9% | |
| 2023 | 170 | +24.1% | |
| 2024 | 174 | +2.4% | |
| 2025 | 153 | -12.1% |
For the 12 building fires Carrollton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 93 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 | 24 | 25.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 15 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Other | 7 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 20.4% |
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 Carrollton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 44 | 47.3% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 12 | 12.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Carrollton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Carrollton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,762 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,071 | 14.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 902 | 23.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 380 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 350 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 41.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 11.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 292 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 263 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 237 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 220 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 211 | 33.4 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 Missouri cities with population within ±25% of Carrollton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Carrollton.
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.