In 2025, fire departments serving Fairfax responded to 34 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $65K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
99 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $681K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 17 | — | |
| 2022 | 12 | -29.4% | |
| 2023 | 22 | +83.3% | |
| 2024 | 14 | -36.4% | |
| 2025 | 34 | +142.9% |
For the 6 building fires Fairfax 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 17.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 4 | 17.4% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 13.0% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 6 | Other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Interior stairway or ramp | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 13.0% |
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 Fairfax mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 34.8% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 4.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Fairfax departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $65,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fairfax sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,886 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 | 824 | 19.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 402 | 26.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 360 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 316 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 228 | 20.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 23.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 25.3 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 52228 | 99 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Fairfax. 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.