In 2025, fire departments serving Houston responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 68% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
129 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 18 | — | |
| 2022 | 27 | +50.0% | |
| 2023 | 32 | +18.5% | |
| 2024 | 24 | -25.0% | |
| 2025 | 28 | +16.7% |
For the 4 building fires Houston departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 28 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 35.7% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 3 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 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 Houston mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 21.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.6% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Houston sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 29,495 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,761 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,521 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,460 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,365 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,249 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,212 | 31.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 1,126 | 43.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 1,049 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,027 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,005 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 956 | 23.1 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 65483 | 129 |
Six Missouri cities with population within ±25% of Houston. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Houston.
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.