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In 2025, fire departments serving Gervais responded to 11 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
81 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $132K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 19 | — | |
| 2022 | 21 | +10.5% | |
| 2023 | 16 | -23.8% | |
| 2024 | 14 | -12.5% | |
| 2025 | 11 | -21.4% |
For the 2 building fires Gervais departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 29 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 | Outside area, other | 6 | 20.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 17.2% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 4 | 13.8% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 10.3% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 10.3% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 8 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 3.4% |
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 Gervais mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 10 | 34.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 13.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Gervais departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $400 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Gervais sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 360,538 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 193,573 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 138,054 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 7,500 | 32.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,508 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 2,810 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,584 | 18.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 2,033 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,508 | 30.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 1,070 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 790 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 695 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 532 | 14.7 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Oregon cities with population within ±25% of Gervais. 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.