In 2025, fire departments serving Greenwood responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $246K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Arcing, shorted electrical equipment lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 76% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
180 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $600K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | — | |
| 2022 | 27 | +12.5% | |
| 2023 | 61 | +125.9% | |
| 2024 | 43 | -29.5% | |
| 2025 | 25 | -41.9% |
For the 1 building fires Greenwood departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 55 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 | 12 | 21.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 10 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 5 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 18.2% |
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 Greenwood mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 29.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Fireworks | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Incendiary device | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 20.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Greenwood departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $245,980 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $500 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $250 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $250 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Greenwood sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 15,737 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,082 | 43.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,654 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,129 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 750 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 750 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 750 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 649 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 485 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 360 | 48.1 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 Greenwood. 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.