In 2025, fire departments serving Centerville responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 82% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
134 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $426K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 27 | +28.6% | |
| 2023 | 17 | -37.0% | |
| 2024 | 41 | +141.2% | |
| 2025 | 28 | -31.7% |
For the 7 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 31 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 | 6 | 19.4% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 8 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 12.9% |
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 | 13 | 41.9% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Lightning | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 6.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Centerville departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1 | Cultivated vegetation, crop fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Centerville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 6 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 880 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 614 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 75 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 70 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 55 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 47 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 19 | 30.7 mi |
Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Louisiana cities with population within ±25% of Centerville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Centerville.
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.