In 2025, fire departments serving Howard responded to 15 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
71 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $66K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 10 | — | |
| 2022 | 13 | +30.0% | |
| 2023 | 20 | +53.8% | |
| 2024 | 13 | -35.0% | |
| 2025 | 15 | +15.4% |
For the 3 building fires Howard departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 4 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 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Wall assembly | 1 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 25.0% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 1 | 25.0% |
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 Howard mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 1 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Lightning | 1 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 25.0% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 1 | 25.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Howard sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 230,133 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25,650 | 18.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 23,000 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 20,307 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 14,000 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 12,468 | 46.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,000 | 20.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,000 | 13.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,000 | 21.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,700 | 44.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,000 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 9,077 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 8,000 | 39.0 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 Kansas cities with population within ±25% of Howard. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Howard.
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.