In 2025, fire departments serving Long Beach responded to 36 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
150 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $50K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26 | — | |
| 2022 | 19 | -26.9% | |
| 2023 | 21 | +10.5% | |
| 2024 | 48 | +128.6% | |
| 2025 | 36 | -25.0% |
For the 3 building fires Long Beach departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 39 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 | Outside area, other | 14 | 35.9% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Egress/exit, other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Assembly or sales area, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 12.8% |
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 Long Beach mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 35.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Sunlight | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 10.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Long Beach departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Long Beach sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 108,514 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 19,225 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 17,050 | 7.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 11,765 | 12.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,638 | 15.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,284 | 14.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,832 | 13.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,577 | 23.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 3,477 | 18.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,900 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,730 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,450 | 27.1 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six New Jersey cities with population within ±25% of Long Beach. 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.