In 2025, fire departments serving Hayden responded to 85 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 68% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
440 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 80 | — | |
| 2022 | 77 | -3.8% | |
| 2023 | 83 | +7.8% | |
| 2024 | 115 | +38.6% | |
| 2025 | 85 | -26.1% |
For the 22 building fires Hayden departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 108 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 | 53 | 49.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Other | 7 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 5 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Entrance way, lobby | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 9.3% |
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 Hayden mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 68 | 63.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 9 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 4.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hayden departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $4,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hayden sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 23,437 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 2,950 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,784 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,003 | 48.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,540 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,308 | 13.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,163 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,100 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 919 | 28.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 890 | 10.8 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 700 | 25.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 660 | 24.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 631 | 44.7 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 Alabama cities with population within ±25% of Hayden. 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.