In 2025, fire departments serving Clayton responded to 117 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
402 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49 | — | |
| 2022 | 74 | +51.0% | |
| 2023 | 80 | +8.1% | |
| 2024 | 82 | +2.5% | |
| 2025 | 117 | +42.7% |
For the 35 building fires Clayton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 102 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 | 43 | 42.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 9 | 8.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 6.9% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Structural area, other | 4 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 16.7% |
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 Clayton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 70 | 68.6% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 5.9% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 3.9% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 3.9% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Clayton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 14,214 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,107 | 47.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 13.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,535 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 1,518 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,250 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 765 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 569 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 522 | 23.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 12.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 470 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 408 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 390 | 47.5 mi |
Top 6 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Delaware cities with population within ±25% of Clayton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Clayton.
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.