In 2025, fire departments serving Malvern responded to 37 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Chemical hazard (no spill or leak) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 76% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
192 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $345K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 27 | — | |
| 2022 | 37 | +37.0% | |
| 2023 | 41 | +10.8% | |
| 2024 | 50 | +22.0% | |
| 2025 | 37 | -26.0% |
For the 2 building fires Malvern departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 25 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 | Other | 4 | 16.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 4 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 16.0% |
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 Malvern mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 32.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Match | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 4.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Malvern departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Malvern sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,482 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,000 | 23.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 2,000 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,200 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 14.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 443 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 300 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 260 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 200 | 4.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 21.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 200 | 12.9 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 | 51551 | 192 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Malvern. 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.