In 2025, fire departments serving Marlborough responded to 14 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 100% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
90 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $5K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | — | |
| 2022 | 19 | -20.8% | |
| 2023* | 5 | — | |
| 2024 | 28 | — | |
| 2025 | 14 | -50.0% |
* Well below Marlborough's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 8 building fires Marlborough departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 8 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 | 3 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 1 | 12.5% |
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 Marlborough mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 4 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 12.5% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Marlborough sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,363 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,475 | 30.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 49.1 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 270 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 225 | 27.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 150 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 39.0 mi | |
| 1997 | Smoking | 135 | 44.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 130 | 47.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 120 | 46.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 104 | 45.3 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 Missouri cities with population within ±25% of Marlborough. 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.