In 2025, fire departments serving Covington responded to 80 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Special outside fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 58% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
495 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 109 | — | |
| 2022 | 66 | -39.4% | |
| 2023 | 137 | +107.6% | |
| 2024 | 103 | -24.8% | |
| 2025 | 80 | -22.3% |
For the 7 building fires Covington departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 111 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 | 25 | 22.5% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 16 | 14.4% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 14 | 12.6% | |
| 4 | Other | 10 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 7.2% | |
| 6 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 18.0% |
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 Covington mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 69 | 62.2% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 5.4% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 9.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Covington departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $7,500 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $200 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Covington sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 63,501 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52,056 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 3,853 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,061 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 750 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 494 | 15.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 420 | 29.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 360 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 359 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 350 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 310 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 302 | 47.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 290 | 11.7 mi |
Top 8 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Washington cities with population within ±25% of Covington. 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.