In 2025, fire departments serving Gering responded to 105 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $59K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
May peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
541 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $603K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 95 | — | |
| 2022 | 132 | +38.9% | |
| 2023 | 80 | -39.4% | |
| 2024 | 129 | +61.3% | |
| 2025 | 105 | -18.6% |
For the 7 building fires Gering departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 169 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 52 | 30.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 25 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 24 | 14.2% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Wall assembly | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 31 | 18.3% |
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 Gering mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 47 | 27.8% | |
| 2 | Fireworks | 26 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 13 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 11 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Lightning | 9 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 29 | 17.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Gering departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $59,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $18,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $4,500 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Gering sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 103,233 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Natural | 21,080 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 16,000 | 18.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,520 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 9,798 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,000 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 5,000 | 19.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,000 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,850 | 16.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 3,600 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 3,500 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,000 | 30.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 2,200 | 5.4 mi |
Top 9 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Nebraska cities with population within ±25% of Gering. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Gering.
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.