In 2025, fire departments serving Morrilton responded to 75 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K 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 73% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
340 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $3.8M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 92 | — | |
| 2022 | 77 | -16.3% | |
| 2023 | 43 | -44.2% | |
| 2024 | 53 | +23.3% | |
| 2025 | 75 | +41.5% |
For the 22 building fires Morrilton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 170 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 | 70 | 41.2% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 32 | 18.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 12 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Other | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 2 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 12.9% |
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 Morrilton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 98 | 57.6% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 5.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 8 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Match | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Arcing | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 20 | 11.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Morrilton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 91% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $135,150 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $71,800 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $50,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Morrilton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 32,824 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Natural | 5,091 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,983 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,067 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,014 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,653 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,591 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 1,435 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,401 | 11.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,052 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,014 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,004 | 36.3 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 72110 | 340 |
Six Arkansas cities with population within ±25% of Morrilton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Morrilton.
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.