In 2025, fire departments serving Dillingham responded to 13 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K 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 77% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
57 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | — | |
| 2022 | 12 | +9.1% | |
| 2023 | 12 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 9 | -25.0% | |
| 2025 | 13 | +44.4% |
For the 5 building fires Dillingham 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 | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 2 | Other | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Function area, other | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Structural area, other | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 33.3% |
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 Dillingham mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated heat from another fire | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 9 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 6.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Dillingham departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dillingham sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 20 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 25,412 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 16,566 | 5.2 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 2,450 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 1,931 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 1,825 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 1,558 | 37.2 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 250 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 244 | 31.5 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 185 | 38.6 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 90 | 34.3 mi | |
| 1997 | Smoking | 57 | 17.7 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 35 | 39.1 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 35 | 38.9 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 | 99576 | 57 |
Six Alaska cities with population within ±25% of Dillingham. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Dillingham.
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.