In 2025, fire departments serving Connell responded to 22 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $40K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
82 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $40K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 12 | — | |
| 2022 | 17 | +41.7% | |
| 2023 | 15 | -11.8% | |
| 2024 | 16 | +6.7% | |
| 2025 | 22 | +37.5% |
For the 2 building fires Connell departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 45 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 | 9 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 15.6% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 15.6% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 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 Connell mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 13.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Connell departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Connell sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 511,284 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 163,884 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Recreation and ceremony | 41,748 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25,000 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 22,316 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 22,000 | 13.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 21,620 | 23.8 mi | |
| 1998 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 18,120 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 17,946 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 17,465 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Firearms and explosives use | 16,005 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 14,235 | 38.1 mi | |
| 1993 | Equipment and vehicle use | 12,705 | 32.4 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 | 99326 | 82 |
Six Washington cities with population within ±25% of Connell. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Connell.
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.