In 2025, fire departments serving Jefferson responded to 142 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 54% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
726 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $5.5M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 146 | — | |
| 2022 | 151 | +3.4% | |
| 2023 | 125 | -17.2% | |
| 2024 | 162 | +29.6% | |
| 2025 | 142 | -12.3% |
For the 10 building fires Jefferson departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 184 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 | 30 | 16.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 25 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 23 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 18 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 11 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Other | 6 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 5 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 5 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 52 | 28.3% |
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 Jefferson mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 105 | 57.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 18 | 9.8% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 17 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 9 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 7.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Jefferson departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 94% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $120,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Jefferson sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 21,305 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,922 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,600 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 1,507 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 1,500 | 16.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,178 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,078 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 893 | 10.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 886 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 28.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 798 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 755 | 49.9 mi |
Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Louisiana cities with population within ±25% of Jefferson. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Jefferson.
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.