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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Fullerton, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Fullerton responded to 345 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A+ Peak yr 2024 Orange County 142,280 residents 0 reporting departments 1,595 5-yr
Total incidents
345
-14.2% vs 2024
Building fires
28
Residential 64% Other 36%
Property loss
$2.2M
$1.6M structure · $559K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 48% of all calls.

345
Total Incidents
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 47 13.6%
Power line down 36 10.4%
Building fires 28 8.1%
Cooking fire, confined to container 28 8.1%
Trash or rubbish fire, contained 28 8.1%
All other categories 178 51.6%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

May peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 28
Feb 29
Mar 30
Apr 23
May 41
Jun 30
Jul 41
Aug 34
Sep 22
Oct 35
Nov 30
Dec 2
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Fullerton

1,595 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $5.4M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 261 —
2022 298 +14.2%
2023 289 -3.0%
2024 402 +39.1%
2025 345 -14.2%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 28 building fires Fullerton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
56%
33
Cause undetermined
25%
15
Intentional / arson
12%
7
Equipment / heat source failure
3%
2
Under investigation
3%
2
Act of nature (lightning)
1%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Fullerton?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 211 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 originCountShare 
1 Outside area, other 38 18.0%
2 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 33 15.6%
3 Undetermined 30 14.2%
4 Cooking area, kitchen 18 8.5%
5 Other 12 5.7%
6 Highway, parking lot, street: on or near 12 5.7%
7 Vehicle area, other 8 3.8%
8 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 7 3.3%
9 Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. 6 2.8%
10 Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste 5 2.4%
11 All other areas 42 19.9%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 Fullerton mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 125 59.2%
2 Heat source: other 14 6.6%
3 Arcing 12 5.7%
4 Heat from powered equipment, other 8 3.8%
5 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 8 3.8%
6 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 6 2.8%
7 Hot or smoldering object, other 6 2.8%
8 Heat, spark from friction 6 2.8%
9 Hot ember or ash 6 2.8%
10 Fireworks 4 1.9%
11 All other sources 16 7.6%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $1.2M in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Fullerton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 74% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $500,000 Building fires Major Investigated
2 $150,000 Fire, other Significant Investigated
3 $130,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
4 $125,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
5 $100,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
6 $100,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
7 $55,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
8 $50,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
05 How Fullerton compares

Fullerton vs California vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fullerton sits below the national average for incidents per resident.

2.42
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Fullerton
2.42
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.2
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Fullerton
0.2
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Fullerton
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Fullerton

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 906,968 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2009 Arson/incendiarism 160,371 28.9 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 115,997 25.2 mi
2003 Arson/incendiarism 91,281 43.1 mi
2003 Arson/incendiarism 59,788 32.2 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 41,432 46.5 mi
2007 Misuse of fire by a minor 38,356 50.0 mi
2002 Arson/incendiarism 37,240 25.2 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 36,274 37.3 mi
2008 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 30,305 10.9 mi
2007 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 28,476 17.8 mi
2005 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 24,970 47.8 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 23,025 27.7 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Fullerton do fires concentrate?

Top 8 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 92831 467
2 92833 437
3 92832 364
4 92835 215
5 92870 2
6 90621 1
7 90631 1
8 92865 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Fullerton

Six California cities with population within ±25% of Fullerton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.