In 2025, fire departments serving Eureka responded to 187 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $12K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
657 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $937K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 90 | — | |
| 2022 | 111 | +23.3% | |
| 2023 | 114 | +2.7% | |
| 2024 | 155 | +36.0% | |
| 2025 | 187 | +20.6% |
For the 27 building fires Eureka departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 83 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 25 | 30.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 12 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 24 | 28.9% |
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 Eureka mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 35 | 42.2% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 10 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 7.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Eureka departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 85% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $12,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $4,300 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Eureka sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,309 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,475 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,026 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 685 | 49.7 mi | |
| 1997 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 522 | 42.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 517 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 387 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 365 | 39.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 33.7 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 270 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 265 | 37.9 mi |
Top 8 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Missouri cities with population within ±25% of Eureka. 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.