In 2025, fire departments serving Kearns responded to 110 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2.5M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
601 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $7.0M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 103 | — | |
| 2022 | 109 | +5.8% | |
| 2023 | 121 | +11.0% | |
| 2024 | 158 | +30.6% | |
| 2025 | 110 | -30.4% |
For the 23 building fires Kearns departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 159 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 | 19 | 11.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 17 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 10.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 13 | 8.2% | |
| 5 | Other | 10 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 10 | 6.3% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 7 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 50 | 31.4% |
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 Kearns mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 58 | 36.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 19 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 17 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 10 | 6.3% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 17 | 10.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Kearns departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $65,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Kearns sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 415,691 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Natural | 44,345 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 38,190 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 31,010 | 40.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 28,540 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 24,594 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 22,045 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 21,372 | 49.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 20,700 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Firearms and explosives use | 16,267 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 16,116 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 15,330 | 23.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 14,293 | 29.9 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 Utah cities with population within ±25% of Kearns. 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.