In 2025, fire departments serving Mead responded to 69 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 62% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
296 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 37 | — | |
| 2022 | 60 | +62.2% | |
| 2023 | 85 | +41.7% | |
| 2024 | 45 | -47.1% | |
| 2025 | 69 | +53.3% |
For the 12 building fires Mead departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 67 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 | 9 | 13.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 10.4% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 7 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 28.4% |
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 Mead mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 31.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 10.4% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 5 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 8 | Radiated heat from another fire | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 14.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Mead departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $34,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mead sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 290,993 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 127,430 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 64,007 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 18,117 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15,269 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 12,764 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Firearms and explosives use | 10,552 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,017 | 21.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5,046 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,983 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 3,082 | 48.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 3,020 | 15.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,172 | 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 Washington cities with population within ±25% of Mead. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Mead.
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.