In 2025, fire departments serving Metairie responded to 774 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $525K 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 61% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
4,015 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $47.4M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 933 | — | |
| 2022 | 824 | -11.7% | |
| 2023 | 684 | -17.0% | |
| 2024 | 800 | +17.0% | |
| 2025 | 774 | -3.2% |
For the 77 building fires Metairie departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 846 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 | 165 | 19.5% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 119 | 14.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 101 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 95 | 11.2% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 29 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 25 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Other | 23 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 19 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 19 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 17 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 234 | 27.7% |
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 Metairie mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 537 | 63.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 52 | 6.1% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 51 | 6.0% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 47 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 30 | 3.5% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 19 | 2.2% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 14 | 1.7% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 14 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 12 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Radiated heat from another fire | 11 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 59 | 7.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Metairie departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 46% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $525,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $350,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $300,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 5 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 6 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 7 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 8 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Metairie sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 21,305 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,922 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,600 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 1,507 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 1,500 | 17.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,178 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,078 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 893 | 8.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 886 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 798 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 755 | 49.3 mi |
Top 10 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Louisiana cities with population within ±25% of Metairie. 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.