In 2025, fire departments serving Helper responded to 16 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 69% of all calls.
May peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
99 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.8M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 27 | — | |
| 2022 | 18 | -33.3% | |
| 2023 | 14 | -22.2% | |
| 2024 | 24 | +71.4% | |
| 2025 | 16 | -33.3% |
For the 3 building fires Helper departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 24 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 | Other | 8 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 4.2% |
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 Helper mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 10 | 41.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Fireworks | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 4.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Helper departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Helper sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 424,374 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Natural | 102,191 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 68,547 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 48,986 | 21.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 47,387 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 31,661 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25,456 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 18,620 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 18,080 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 9,159 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 7,221 | 15.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5,720 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 5,315 | 47.9 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Utah cities with population within ±25% of Helper. 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.