In 2025, fire departments serving Mill Creek responded to 64 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Natural vegetation fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 45% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
361 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 62 | — | |
| 2022 | 74 | +19.4% | |
| 2023 | 77 | +4.1% | |
| 2024 | 84 | +9.1% | |
| 2025 | 64 | -23.8% |
For the 0 building fires Mill Creek departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 109 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 | 24 | 22.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 13 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 10.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 9 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 5.5% | |
| 8 | Other | 5 | 4.6% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 18.3% |
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 Mill Creek mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 66 | 60.6% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 7.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 7 | 6.4% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 4.6% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Candle | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 5.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Mill Creek departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mill Creek sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,217 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,312 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,243 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 494 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 443 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 360 | 32.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 294 | 45.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 290 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 289 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 225 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 216 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 200 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 170 | 39.6 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 Mill Creek. 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.