In 2025, fire departments serving Magnolia responded to 142 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K 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 80% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
896 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $6.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 148 | — | |
| 2022 | 117 | -20.9% | |
| 2023 | 267 | +128.2% | |
| 2024 | 222 | -16.9% | |
| 2025 | 142 | -36.0% |
For the 41 building fires Magnolia departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 204 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 | 101 | 49.5% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 21 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 9 | 4.4% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 33 | 16.2% |
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 Magnolia mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 143 | 70.1% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 12 | 5.9% | |
| 3 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 10 | 4.9% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 5 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 9 | Radiated heat from another fire | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 6.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Magnolia departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 88% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $180,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $150,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $119,524 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $65,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Magnolia sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 16,035 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 4,109 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 42.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 12.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 623 | 18.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 622 | 17.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 600 | 31.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 570 | 28.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 491 | 36.7 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 486 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 480 | 36.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 453 | 42.1 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 | 39652 | 896 |
Six Mississippi cities with population within ±25% of Magnolia. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Magnolia.
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.