In 2025, fire departments serving Cedar Hill responded to 115 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
639 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $2.5M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 159 | — | |
| 2022 | 109 | -31.4% | |
| 2023 | 136 | +24.8% | |
| 2024 | 120 | -11.8% | |
| 2025 | 115 | -4.2% |
For the 20 building fires Cedar Hill departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 239 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 | 80 | 33.5% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 37 | 15.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 33 | 13.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 42 | 17.6% |
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 Cedar Hill mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 171 | 71.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 2.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 2.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 7 | 2.9% | |
| 5 | Radiated heat from another fire | 7 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 6.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cedar Hill departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 93% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $97,200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cedar Hill sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,055 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,475 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,026 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 644 | 49.5 mi | |
| 1997 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 522 | 34.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 517 | 42.0 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 459 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 387 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 365 | 31.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 15.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 325 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 27.3 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 Missouri cities with population within ±25% of Cedar Hill. 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.