In 2025, fire departments serving Galena responded to 82 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
581 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $193K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 137 | — | |
| 2022 | 142 | +3.6% | |
| 2023 | 111 | -21.8% | |
| 2024 | 109 | -1.8% | |
| 2025 | 82 | -24.8% |
For the 7 building fires Galena departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 149 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 | 51 | 34.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 10 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Wall assembly | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 32 | 21.5% |
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 Galena mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 103 | 69.1% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 5 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 6 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.3% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 7.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Galena departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Galena sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 18,516 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,580 | 26.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,376 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 1,300 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 49.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 903 | 10.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 876 | 11.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 750 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 660 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 602 | 10.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 600 | 1.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 600 | 41.3 mi |
Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Kansas cities with population within ±25% of Galena. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Galena.
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.