In 2025, fire departments serving Elma responded to 136 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $350K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
556 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 114 | — | |
| 2022 | 110 | -3.5% | |
| 2023 | 84 | -23.6% | |
| 2024 | 112 | +33.3% | |
| 2025 | 136 | +21.4% |
For the 16 building fires Elma departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 185 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 | 42 | 22.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 32 | 17.3% | |
| 3 | Other | 15 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 7.6% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 7.6% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 6 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 38 | 20.5% |
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 Elma mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 80 | 43.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 25 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 14 | 7.6% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 8 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Match | 8 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 18 | 9.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Elma departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $350,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $280,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $170,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $9,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Elma sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,561 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,312 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,243 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Fireworks | 1,100 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 817 | 48.1 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 594 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 385 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 384 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 299 | 49.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 294 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 268 | 19.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 229 | 10.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 185 | 22.4 mi |
Top 7 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Washington cities with population within ±25% of Elma. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Elma.
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.