In 2025, fire departments serving Mena responded to 87 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 68% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
496 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.4M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 108 | — | |
| 2022 | 93 | -13.9% | |
| 2023 | 79 | -15.1% | |
| 2024 | 129 | +63.3% | |
| 2025 | 87 | -32.6% |
For the 9 building fires Mena departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 124 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 | 27 | 21.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 18 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 16 | 12.9% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 5 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Other | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 17.7% |
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 Mena mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 65 | 52.4% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 7 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 11.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Mena departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $8,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mena sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 57,633 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 9,071 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 8,294 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 4,000 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 3,739 | 30.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,700 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,400 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,300 | 48.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,900 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,800 | 32.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,800 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,626 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,550 | 23.2 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 Arkansas cities with population within ±25% of Mena. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Mena.
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.