In 2025, fire departments serving Independence responded to 115 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
373 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 54 | — | |
| 2022 | 66 | +22.2% | |
| 2023 | 51 | -22.7% | |
| 2024 | 87 | +70.6% | |
| 2025 | 115 | +32.2% |
For the 17 building fires Independence departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 78 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 | 11 | 14.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 9 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Technical processing areas, other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 27 | 34.6% |
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 Independence mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 11 | 14.1% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 11.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Independence departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Oil or other combustible liquid spill | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Independence sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,082 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 | 824 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 750 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 402 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 360 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 316 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 228 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 17.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 175 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 165 | 48.2 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 | 50644 | 373 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Independence. 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.