In 2025, fire departments serving Marthasville responded to 56 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
299 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 79 | — | |
| 2022 | 61 | -22.8% | |
| 2023 | 54 | -11.5% | |
| 2024 | 49 | -9.3% | |
| 2025 | 56 | +14.3% |
For the 8 building fires Marthasville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 79 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 | 13 | 16.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 13.9% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 11 | 13.9% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 7.6% | |
| 6 | Other | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 15.2% |
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 Marthasville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 32 | 40.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 6.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 6.3% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Match | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 11.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Marthasville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $307,080 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Fuel burner/boiler malfunction, fire confined | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Marthasville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,009 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 | 39.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1,050 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,026 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 685 | 26.5 mi | |
| 1997 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 522 | 47.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 517 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 387 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 365 | 43.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 34.9 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 270 | 41.0 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 Marthasville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Marthasville.
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.