In 2025, fire departments serving Destrehan responded to 43 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $35K 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 65% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
331 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $904K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55 | — | |
| 2022 | 77 | +40.0% | |
| 2023 | 75 | -2.6% | |
| 2024 | 81 | +8.0% | |
| 2025 | 43 | -46.9% |
For the 11 building fires Destrehan departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 114 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 | 33 | 28.9% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 9.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 7 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 26 | 22.8% |
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 Destrehan mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 72 | 63.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 8 | 7.0% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 6 | Candle | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 8.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Destrehan departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $21,600 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,047 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,710 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,630 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Destrehan sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 15,298 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,922 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 1,500 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 893 | 5.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 725 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 641 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 614 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 600 | 46.1 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 570 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 550 | 38.6 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 520 | 35.3 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 Louisiana cities with population within ±25% of Destrehan. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Destrehan.
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.