In 2025, fire departments serving McGehee responded to 48 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
242 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45 | — | |
| 2022 | 47 | +4.4% | |
| 2023 | 62 | +31.9% | |
| 2024 | 40 | -35.5% | |
| 2025 | 48 | +20.0% |
For the 12 building fires McGehee departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 139 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 | Undetermined | 46 | 33.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 7.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 7.9% | |
| 4 | Other | 8 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 7 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 33 | 23.7% |
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 McGehee mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 63 | 45.3% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 7.9% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 8 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 7 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Radiated heat from another fire | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 11.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by McGehee departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 93% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Building fires | 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. McGehee sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 13,634 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,669 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,509 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,414 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,013 | 19.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 755 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 606 | 14.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 495 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 468 | 14.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 300 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 295 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 279 | 47.6 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Arkansas cities with population within ±25% of McGehee. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in McGehee.
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.