In 2025, fire departments serving Glendale responded to 105 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 80% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
339 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $664K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 76 | — | |
| 2022 | 53 | -30.3% | |
| 2023 | 48 | -9.4% | |
| 2024 | 57 | +18.8% | |
| 2025 | 105 | +84.2% |
For the 17 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 18 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 16.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 3 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 11.1% |
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 | Arcing | 3 | 16.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 3 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 11.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Glendale departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $52,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | 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. 4,604 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,475 | 28.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 48.4 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 270 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 265 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 225 | 29.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 150 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 40.2 mi | |
| 1997 | Smoking | 135 | 45.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 130 | 46.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 120 | 46.8 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 63122 | 339 |
Six Missouri cities with population within ±25% of Glendale. 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.