In 2025, fire departments serving Glasgow responded to 21 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $85K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
86 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $188K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 10 | — | |
| 2022 | 11 | — | |
| 2023 | 24 | +118.2% | |
| 2024 | 20 | -16.7% | |
| 2025 | 21 | +5.0% |
* Well below Glasgow's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 0 building fires Glasgow 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 30.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 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 Glasgow mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 19.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 4 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 9 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 8.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Glasgow departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $85,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $500 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $200 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Glasgow sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,178 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 | 1,071 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 380 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 350 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 44.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 263 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 240 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 211 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 175 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 158 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 150 | 22.3 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 Missouri cities with population within ±25% of Glasgow. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Glasgow.
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.