In 2025, fire departments serving Kendall responded to 43 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $12K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 98% of all calls.
May peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
134 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $232K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20 | — | |
| 2022 | 21 | +5.0% | |
| 2023 | 20 | -4.8% | |
| 2024 | 30 | +50.0% | |
| 2025 | 43 | +43.3% |
For the 0 building fires Kendall departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 11 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 | 4 | 36.4% | |
| 2 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 18.2% | |
| 4 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Roof surface: exterior | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 1 | 9.1% |
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 Kendall mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 72.7% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 9.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Kendall departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $12,191 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Kendall sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,974 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Natural | 7,107 | 43.0 mi | |
| 1998 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,162 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 426 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 304 | 33.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 255 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 241 | 40.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 175 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 173 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 141 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 11.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 94 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 89 | 46.8 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 Washington cities with population within ±25% of Kendall. 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.