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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Compton, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Compton responded to 1,083 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A- Peak yr 2025 Los Angeles County 94,822 residents 0 reporting departments 2,920 5-yr
Total incidents
1,083
+82.9% vs 2024
Building fires
33
Residential 67% Other 33%
Property loss
$7.5M
$6.8M structure · $616K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 1
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 1 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.

1,083
Total Incidents
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire 393 36.3%
Trash or rubbish fire, contained 90 8.3%
Grass fire 83 7.7%
Outside rubbish fire, other 79 7.3%
Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire 56 5.2%
All other categories 382 35.3%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Aug peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 114
Feb 75
Mar 71
Apr 68
May 84
Jun 70
Jul 105
Aug 135
Sep 89
Oct 97
Nov 77
Dec 98
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Compton

2,920 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $56.8M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 661 —
2022 397 -39.9%
2023* 187 —
2024 592 —
2025 1,083 +82.9%

* Well below Compton's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.

03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 33 building fires Compton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
17%
51
Cause undetermined
34%
101
Intentional / arson
27%
79
Equipment / heat source failure
8%
24
Under investigation
13%
37
Act of nature (lightning)
1%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Compton?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 760 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 originCountShare 
1 Undetermined 130 17.1%
2 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 103 13.6%
3 Outside area, other 98 12.9%
4 Vehicle area, other 75 9.9%
5 Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. 41 5.4%
6 Open area - outside; included are farmland, field 34 4.5%
7 Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles 27 3.6%
8 Highway, parking lot, street: on or near 26 3.4%
9 Other 21 2.8%
10 Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge 14 1.8%
11 All other areas 191 25.1%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 Compton mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 403 53.0%
2 Heat source: other 61 8.0%
3 Arcing 54 7.1%
4 Hot or smoldering object, other 40 5.3%
5 Heat from powered equipment, other 37 4.9%
6 Heat from other open flame or smoking materials 21 2.8%
7 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 17 2.2%
8 Hot ember or ash 14 1.8%
9 Match 13 1.7%
10 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 12 1.6%
11 All other sources 88 11.6%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $4.6M in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Compton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 67% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $2,000,000 Passenger vehicle fire Major Investigated
2 $1,000,000 Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire Major Investigated
3 $450,000 Building fires Major Investigated
4 $300,000 Fire, other Major Investigated
5 $250,000 Fire, other Major Investigated
6 $200,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
7 $200,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
8 $200,000 Fire, other Significant Investigated
05 How Compton compares

Compton vs California vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Compton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.

11.42
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Compton
11.42
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.35
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Compton
0.35
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Compton
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Compton

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,044,170 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2009 Arson/incendiarism 160,371 24.2 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 115,997 28.9 mi
2003 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 108,204 42.3 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 96,949 36.1 mi
2003 Arson/incendiarism 59,788 46.8 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 41,432 38.4 mi
2007 Misuse of fire by a minor 38,356 44.1 mi
1993 Arson/incendiarism 38,152 41.2 mi
2002 Arson/incendiarism 37,240 34.3 mi
2008 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 30,305 28.1 mi
2006 Misuse of fire by a minor 30,000 48.9 mi
2007 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 28,476 33.8 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Compton do fires concentrate?

Top 10 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 90220 1,374
2 90221 1,069
3 90222 205
4 90061 189
5 90059 42
6 90248 17
7 90805 15
8 90746 5
9 90224 1
10 90808 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Compton

Six California cities with population within ±25% of Compton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.