In 2025, fire departments serving Fairfield Bay responded to 21 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 95% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
131 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 38 | — | |
| 2022 | 36 | -5.3% | |
| 2023 | 16 | -55.6% | |
| 2024 | 20 | +25.0% | |
| 2025 | 21 | +5.0% |
For the 7 building fires Fairfield Bay departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 62 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 | 15 | 24.2% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 17.7% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 10 | 16.1% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Corridor, mall | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 9.7% |
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 Fairfield Bay mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 40 | 64.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 6 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Match | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 1.6% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fairfield Bay sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 31,979 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,983 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 2,008 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,779 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,653 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 1,631 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,591 | 14.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 1,470 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,350 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,340 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 36.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,063 | 42.4 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Arkansas cities with population within ±25% of Fairfield Bay. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Fairfield Bay.
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.