In 2025, fire departments serving Clinton responded to 50 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
294 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $839K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53 | — | |
| 2022 | 75 | +41.5% | |
| 2023 | 49 | -34.7% | |
| 2024 | 67 | +36.7% | |
| 2025 | 50 | -25.4% |
For the 13 building fires Clinton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 86 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 | 51 | 59.3% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 7.0% |
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 Clinton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 69 | 80.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 4 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 9 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 2.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Clinton departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Clinton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 34,864 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,983 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,014 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 2,008 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,779 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,653 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 1,631 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,591 | 15.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 1,470 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 1,435 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,401 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,350 | 37.5 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 Arkansas cities with population within ±25% of Clinton. 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.