In 2025, fire departments serving Freeland responded to 42 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $190K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 55% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
231 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 69 | — | |
| 2022 | 50 | -27.5% | |
| 2023 | 31 | -38.0% | |
| 2024 | 39 | +25.8% | |
| 2025 | 42 | +7.7% |
For the 2 building fires Freeland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 36 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 | 7 | 19.4% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Other | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 9 | Undetermined | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 10 | Shipping/receiving area; loading area, dock or bay | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 13.9% |
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 Freeland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 30.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 5.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Freeland departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $190,354 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,200 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $300 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Freeland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,785 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,312 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 2,475 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,243 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 825 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 817 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 443 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 385 | 45.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 294 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 289 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 200 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 160 | 49.3 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 Washington cities with population within ±25% of Freeland. 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.