In 2025, fire departments serving Ellis responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 78% of all calls.
Sep peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
137 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $31K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35 | — | |
| 2022 | 33 | -5.7% | |
| 2023 | 26 | -21.2% | |
| 2024 | 25 | -3.8% | |
| 2025 | 18 | -28.0% |
For the 2 building fires Ellis departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 38 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 | 12 | 31.6% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 26.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 21.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 6 | Enclosure, pressurized air | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Outside area, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 2.6% |
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 Ellis mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Lightning | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 5.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ellis departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $500 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ellis sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 48,622 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,000 | 32.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,600 | 12.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 7,500 | 18.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,500 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,500 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,600 | 42.2 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,600 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,600 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,513 | 6.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,500 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,200 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 42.7 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 Kansas cities with population within ±25% of Ellis. 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.