In 2025, fire departments serving Matthews responded to 44 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
183 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35 | — | |
| 2022 | 37 | +5.7% | |
| 2023 | 38 | +2.7% | |
| 2024 | 29 | -23.7% | |
| 2025 | 44 | +51.7% |
For the 5 building fires Matthews departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 105 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 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 24 | 22.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 17.1% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 17 | 16.2% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 14.3% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 11 | 10.5% | |
| 6 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Other | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 7.6% |
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 Matthews mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 61 | 58.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 8.6% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 4.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 6.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Matthews departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $75,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $40,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Matthews sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,628 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 569 | 14.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 500 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 276 | 48.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 245 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 227 | 46.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 170 | 40.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 161 | 49.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 122 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 106 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 104 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 98 | 45.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 95 | 38.5 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 Matthews. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Matthews.
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.