In 2025, fire departments serving Maryland Heights responded to 186 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 59% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
921 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 184 | — | |
| 2022 | 142 | -22.8% | |
| 2023 | 232 | +63.4% | |
| 2024 | 177 | -23.7% | |
| 2025 | 186 | +5.1% |
For the 21 building fires Maryland Heights departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 196 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 35 | 17.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 35 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 18 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Other | 10 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 8 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 52 | 26.5% |
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 Maryland Heights mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 108 | 55.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 24 | 12.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 13 | 6.6% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 10 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 9 | Candle | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 2 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 5.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Maryland Heights departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Maryland Heights sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,035 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 | 19.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 38.3 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 270 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 265 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 225 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 150 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 48.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 130 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 27.1 mi |
Top 6 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 Maryland Heights. 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.