In 2025, fire departments serving Lonoke responded to 111 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 50% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
567 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $594K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 132 | — | |
| 2022 | 145 | +9.8% | |
| 2023 | 91 | -37.2% | |
| 2024 | 88 | -3.3% | |
| 2025 | 111 | +26.1% |
For the 14 building fires Lonoke departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 297 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 | 108 | 36.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 69 | 23.2% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 32 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 13 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 11 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Other | 4 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 4 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 29 | 9.8% |
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 Lonoke mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 213 | 71.7% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 20 | 6.7% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 10 | 3.4% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 2.0% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 2.0% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 6 | 2.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 1.7% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 18 | 6.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lonoke departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $150 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lonoke sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,042 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 636 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 486 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 413 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 367 | 16.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 343 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 336 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 330 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 319 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 270 | 15.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 240 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 238 | 16.3 mi |
Top 7 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 Lonoke. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lonoke.
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.