In 2025, fire departments serving Long Beach responded to 17 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 77% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
128 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $869K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 38 | — | |
| 2022 | 35 | -7.9% | |
| 2023 | 22 | -37.1% | |
| 2024 | 16 | -27.3% | |
| 2025 | 17 | +6.2% |
For the 0 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 45 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 | 8 | 17.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 24.4% |
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 Long Beach mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Fireworks | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 13.3% |
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 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 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. 1,857 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 | 254 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 143 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 127 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 119 | 8.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Fireworks | 110 | 29.4 mi | |
| 1998 | Debris and open burning | 102 | 10.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 7.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Equipment and vehicle use | 98 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 85 | 7.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 85 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 55 | 42.2 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 | 98631 | 128 |
Six Washington cities with population within ±25% of Long Beach. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Long Beach.
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.