In 2025, fire departments serving Edmonton responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 86% of all calls.
May peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
148 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $272K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26 | — | |
| 2022 | 34 | +30.8% | |
| 2023 | 24 | -29.4% | |
| 2024 | 36 | +50.0% | |
| 2025 | 28 | -22.2% |
For the 7 building fires Edmonton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 23 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 | 8 | 34.8% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 21.7% | |
| 3 | Other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 8.7% |
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 Edmonton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 73.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Lightning | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 4.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Edmonton departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Edmonton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,307 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,000 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 940 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 845 | 19.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 10.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 725 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 652 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 584 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 527 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 457 | 13.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 450 | 31.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 400 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 375 | 44.8 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Kentucky cities with population within ±25% of Edmonton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Edmonton.
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.