In 2025, fire departments serving Lawrence responded to 52 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
251 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49 | — | |
| 2022 | 51 | +4.1% | |
| 2023 | 45 | -11.8% | |
| 2024 | 54 | +20.0% | |
| 2025 | 52 | -3.7% |
For the 11 building fires Lawrence departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 64 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 | 27 | 42.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 9 | 14.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Exterior, exposed surface | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Wall assembly | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 9.4% |
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 Lawrence mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 40 | 62.5% | |
| 2 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 8 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 8 | Match | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lawrence departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lawrence sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 933 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Smoking | 90 | 31.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 71 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 66 | 21.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 24.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 24.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Smoking | 41 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 24.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 40 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Fireworks | 40 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 39 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 34 | 31.6 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 | 49064 | 250 |
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Lawrence. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lawrence.
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.