In 2025, fire departments serving Centerville responded to 53 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 79% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
228 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 32 | — | |
| 2022 | 45 | +40.6% | |
| 2023 | 30 | -33.3% | |
| 2024 | 68 | +126.7% | |
| 2025 | 53 | -22.1% |
For the 11 building fires Centerville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 115 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 | Outside area, other | 26 | 22.6% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 23 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 11 | 9.6% | |
| 5 | Function area, other | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 20.0% |
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 Centerville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 59 | 51.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 7.0% | |
| 3 | Match | 8 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 6 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 9.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Centerville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $150 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Centerville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,344 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 800 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 640 | 14.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 454 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 340 | 18.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 327 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 27.1 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 52544 | 228 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Centerville. 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.