In 2025, fire departments serving Jennings responded to 70 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K building blaze. 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 56% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
487 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.4M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 86 | — | |
| 2022 | 108 | +25.6% | |
| 2023 | 97 | -10.2% | |
| 2024 | 126 | +29.9% | |
| 2025 | 70 | -44.4% |
For the 6 building fires Jennings departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 199 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 | 46 | 23.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 27 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 16 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 15 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Other | 10 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 8 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 38 | 19.1% |
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 Jennings mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 86 | 43.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 20 | 10.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 13 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 10 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 9 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 24 | 12.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Jennings departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 92% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $18,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $8,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Jennings sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 40,134 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,877 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 2,852 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 2,504 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,154 | 17.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 2,062 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 2,000 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,178 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,012 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,011 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 980 | 48.5 mi |
Top 2 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 Jennings. 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.