In 2025, fire departments serving Duson responded to 63 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $280K 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 59% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
479 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 75 | — | |
| 2022 | 88 | +17.3% | |
| 2023 | 92 | +4.5% | |
| 2024 | 161 | +75.0% | |
| 2025 | 63 | -60.9% |
For the 10 building fires Duson 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 | Undetermined | 30 | 26.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 23 | 20.2% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 15 | 13.2% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - 5+ persons; including barrack/dormitory | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 13.2% |
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 Duson mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 78 | 68.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 8 | 7.0% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 7 | Match | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 4.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Duson departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $280,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Duson sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 27,448 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,877 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 2,504 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,154 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 842 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 836 | 41.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Natural | 700 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 355 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 340 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 327 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 320 | 46.5 mi |
Top 9 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 Duson. 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.