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In 2025, fire departments serving Glendale responded to 39 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Carbon monoxide incident lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 54% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
151 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $810K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35 | — | |
| 2022 | 27 | -22.9% | |
| 2023 | 29 | +7.4% | |
| 2024 | 21 | -27.6% | |
| 2025 | 39 | +85.7% |
For the 2 building fires Glendale departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 28 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 | 9 | 32.1% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 10.7% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Roof surface: exterior | 1 | 3.6% |
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 Glendale mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 57.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Candle | 1 | 3.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Glendale departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Glendale sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 83,363 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 11,875 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 10,800 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,106 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 6,382 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,200 | 8.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,348 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 4,142 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 4,085 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3,869 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,008 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Smoking | 2,312 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 35.0 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 Colorado cities with population within ±25% of Glendale. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Glendale.
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.