In 2025, fire departments serving Miami responded to 117 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 50% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
940 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $3.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 133 | — | |
| 2022 | 225 | +69.2% | |
| 2023 | 232 | +3.1% | |
| 2024 | 233 | +0.4% | |
| 2025 | 117 | -49.8% |
For the 19 building fires Miami departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 358 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 | 92 | 25.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 80 | 22.3% | |
| 3 | Other | 20 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 18 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 17 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 17 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 11 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 6 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 73 | 20.4% |
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 Miami mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 199 | 55.6% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 36 | 10.1% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 20 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 20 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 15 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 12 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 8 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 8 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 27 | 7.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Miami departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 87% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $65,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Miami sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 23,804 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,580 | 15.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,376 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 1,300 | 14.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 30.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,050 | 40.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,010 | 36.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 38.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 903 | 13.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 900 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 876 | 11.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 850 | 41.0 mi |
Top 8 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Oklahoma cities with population within ±25% of Miami. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Miami.
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.