In 2025, fire departments serving Flagstaff responded to 428 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 54% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
2,303 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $10.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 456 | — | |
| 2022 | 428 | -6.1% | |
| 2023 | 528 | +23.4% | |
| 2024 | 463 | -12.3% | |
| 2025 | 428 | -7.6% |
For the 9 building fires Flagstaff departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 334 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 | 74 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 43 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Other | 38 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 28 | 8.4% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 22 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 13 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 11 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 8 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 80 | 24.0% |
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 Flagstaff mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 165 | 49.4% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 21 | 6.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 20 | 6.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 16 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 16 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 16 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 14 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 10 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 10 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 8 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 38 | 11.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Flagstaff departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 83% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $35,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $25,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Flagstaff sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 297,988 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Natural | 33,850 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 23,885 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 22,077 | 18.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 17,788 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 17,218 | 17.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 16,400 | 15.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 15,333 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Recreation and ceremony | 15,075 | 6.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 13,790 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 10,788 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 10,748 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 8,759 | 20.9 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 Arizona cities with population within ±25% of Flagstaff. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Flagstaff.
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.