In 2025, fire departments serving High Ridge responded to 138 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $239K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 53% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
684 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $3.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 146 | — | |
| 2022 | 98 | -32.9% | |
| 2023 | 132 | +34.7% | |
| 2024 | 170 | +28.8% | |
| 2025 | 138 | -18.8% |
For the 10 building fires High Ridge departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 143 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 | 30 | 21.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 21 | 14.7% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 19 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 19 | 13.3% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 11 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Other | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 26 | 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 High Ridge mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 103 | 72.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 6.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by High Ridge departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $239,319 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $199,298 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $175,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $44,517 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. High Ridge sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,411 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 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,026 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 37.9 mi | |
| 1997 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 522 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 387 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 365 | 40.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 23.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 36.2 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 270 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 265 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 264 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 256 | 41.0 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 Missouri cities with population within ±25% of High Ridge. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in High Ridge.
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.