In 2025, fire departments serving Holts Summit responded to 45 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Natural vegetation fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
299 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $491K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 61 | — | |
| 2022 | 66 | +8.2% | |
| 2023 | 74 | +12.1% | |
| 2024 | 53 | -28.4% | |
| 2025 | 45 | -15.1% |
For the 4 building fires Holts Summit departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 112 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 | 22 | 19.6% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 13 | 11.6% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 12 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 12 | 10.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 6 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 17.9% |
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 Holts Summit mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 46 | 41.1% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 15 | 13.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 9 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 7 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 15 | 13.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Holts Summit departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $60,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,500 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Holts Summit sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,661 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 2,245 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 759 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 745 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 726 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 685 | 30.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 563 | 50.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 457 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 457 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 454 | 29.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 405 | 32.3 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 265 | 46.1 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 Holts Summit. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Holts Summit.
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.