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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Downey, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Downey responded to 344 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $499K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A+ Peak yr 2024 Los Angeles County 113,052 residents 0 reporting departments 941 5-yr
Total incidents
344
-12.2% vs 2024
Building fires
12
Residential 67% Other 33%
Property loss
$1.2M
$680K structure · $539K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.

344
Total Incidents
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other 75 21.8%
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire 61 17.7%
Outside rubbish fire, other 32 9.3%
Trash or rubbish fire, contained 28 8.1%
Passenger vehicle fire 17 4.9%
All other categories 131 38.1%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 48
Feb 25
Mar 29
Apr 26
May 27
Jun 38
Jul 34
Aug 34
Sep 25
Oct 29
Nov 26
Dec 3
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Downey

941 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.8M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021* 91 —
2022* 69 —
2023* 45 —
2024 392 —
2025 344 -12.2%

* Well below Downey'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 12 building fires Downey departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
30%
11
Cause undetermined
51%
19
Intentional / arson
3%
1
Equipment / heat source failure
16%
6
Under investigation
0%
0
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Downey?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 123 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 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 40 32.5%
2 Undetermined 16 13.0%
3 Vehicle area, other 8 6.5%
4 Outside area, other 7 5.7%
5 Highway, parking lot, street: on or near 6 4.9%
6 Laundry area, wash house (laundry) 4 3.3%
7 Other 3 2.4%
8 Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge 3 2.4%
9 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 3 2.4%
10 Cooking area, kitchen 3 2.4%
11 All other areas 30 24.4%
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 Downey mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 74 60.2%
2 Heat from powered equipment, other 10 8.1%
3 Arcing 10 8.1%
4 Heat source: other 7 5.7%
5 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 4 3.3%
6 Candle 4 3.3%
7 Fireworks 2 1.6%
8 Heat from other open flame or smoking materials 2 1.6%
9 Chemical reaction 2 1.6%
10 Flying brand, ember, spark 2 1.6%
11 All other sources 6 4.9%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $640K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Downey departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 94% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $499,000 Building fires Major Investigated
2 $50,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
3 $22,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
4 $20,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
5 $15,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
6 $12,800 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
7 $11,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
8 $10,000 Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire Significant Investigated
05 How Downey compares

Downey vs California vs the nation

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

3.04
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Downey
3.04
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.11
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Downey
0.11
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Downey
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Downey

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,052,319 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 21.3 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 115,997 23.6 mi
2003 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 108,204 43.5 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 96,949 38.7 mi
2003 Arson/incendiarism 59,788 40.5 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 41,432 37.4 mi
2007 Misuse of fire by a minor 38,356 42.2 mi
1993 Arson/incendiarism 38,152 45.0 mi
2002 Arson/incendiarism 37,240 28.2 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 36,274 44.3 mi
2008 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 30,305 22.9 mi
2013 Power generation/transmission/distribution 30,274 48.9 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Downey do fires concentrate?

Top 7 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 90241 459
2 90242 318
3 90240 149
4 90280 3
5 90670 3
6 90650 2
7 90201 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Downey

Six California cities with population within ±25% of Downey. 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.