In 2025, fire departments serving Lawton responded to 67 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1 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 72% of all calls.
May peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
242 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $10 cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40 | — | |
| 2022 | 35 | -12.5% | |
| 2023 | 46 | +31.4% | |
| 2024 | 54 | +17.4% | |
| 2025 | 67 | +24.1% |
For the 8 building fires Lawton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 52 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 | 20 | 38.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Service facilities, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 13.5% |
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 Lawton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 31 | 59.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lawton departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lawton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,341 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 154 | 47.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 119 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 105 | 44.2 mi | |
| 1993 | Smoking | 90 | 34.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 71 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 66 | 24.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52 | 33.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 51 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 31.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 43 | 49.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 29.1 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 | 49065 | 242 |
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Lawton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lawton.
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.