In 2025, fire departments serving Lincoln responded to 73 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $450K 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 62% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
379 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.4M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59 | — | |
| 2022 | 113 | +91.5% | |
| 2023 | 73 | -35.4% | |
| 2024 | 61 | -16.4% | |
| 2025 | 73 | +19.7% |
For the 19 building fires Lincoln departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 146 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 | 58 | 39.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 30 | 20.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Other | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 13.7% |
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 Lincoln mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 99 | 67.8% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 6 | 4.1% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 6.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lincoln departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $450,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $45,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lincoln sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 76,788 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14,000 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,050 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,900 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,800 | 15.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,700 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,700 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,285 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,240 | 20.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,200 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,200 | 39.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,770 | 23.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 43.4 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Arkansas cities with population within ±25% of Lincoln. 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.