In 2025, fire departments serving Little Flock responded to 38 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 76% of all calls.
May peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
194 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $525K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 36 | — | |
| 2022 | 39 | +8.3% | |
| 2023 | 30 | -23.1% | |
| 2024 | 51 | +70.0% | |
| 2025 | 38 | -25.5% |
For the 4 building fires Little Flock departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 59 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 13 | 22.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 10.2% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Closet | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Construction/renovation area | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 9 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 27.1% |
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 Little Flock mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 39.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 14 | 23.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Match | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 8.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Little Flock departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Little Flock sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 33,455 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 | 3,800 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,285 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,580 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,850 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,500 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 1,300 | 38.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,265 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,050 | 49.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,010 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 45.4 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 | 72756 | 194 |
Six Arkansas cities with population within ±25% of Little Flock. 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.