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In 2025, fire departments serving Independence responded to 44 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $8K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
287 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $243K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 78 | — | |
| 2022 | 67 | -14.1% | |
| 2023 | 56 | -16.4% | |
| 2024 | 42 | -25.0% | |
| 2025 | 44 | +4.8% |
For the 8 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 76 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 | Outside area, other | 10 | 13.2% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 9 | 11.8% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 26.3% |
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 | 31 | 40.8% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 8 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 6.6% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Fireworks | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 11.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Independence departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $7,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Independence sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,209 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,584 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,552 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 1,070 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 532 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 497 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 376 | 16.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 330 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 303 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 283 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 281 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 215 | 28.6 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 | 97351 | 287 |
Six Oregon 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.