In 2025, fire departments serving Milton responded to 68 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $90K 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 53% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
312 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $884K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 61 | — | |
| 2022 | 52 | -14.8% | |
| 2023 | 61 | +17.3% | |
| 2024 | 70 | +14.8% | |
| 2025 | 68 | -2.9% |
For the 3 building fires Milton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 75 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 | 16 | 21.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 8 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 24.0% |
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 Milton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 36 | 48.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 7 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 5.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Milton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $90,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $250 | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $50 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Milton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 64,024 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52,056 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,312 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,243 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,061 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 817 | 50.0 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 594 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 494 | 3.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 420 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 384 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 360 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 359 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 310 | 35.0 mi |
Top 5 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 Milton. 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.