In 2025, fire departments serving Ferguson responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 72% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
100 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $275K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13 | — | |
| 2022 | 17 | +30.8% | |
| 2023 | 17 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 28 | +64.7% | |
| 2025 | 25 | -10.7% |
For the 7 building fires Ferguson departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 65 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 | 19 | 29.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 13 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Other | 7 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 9.2% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Structural area, other | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 10.8% |
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 Ferguson mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 43 | 66.2% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 5 | Match | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 6.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ferguson departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ferguson sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 56,056 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,586 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,700 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,675 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,406 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,398 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,537 | 4.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,500 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2,146 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,079 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,952 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,728 | 44.4 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 Kentucky cities with population within ±25% of Ferguson. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ferguson.
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.