In 2025, fire departments serving Morris responded to 13 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $80K 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 100% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
66 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $220K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 1 | — | |
| 2022 | 18 | — | |
| 2023 | 18 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 16 | -11.1% | |
| 2025 | 13 | -18.8% |
* Well below Morris's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 5 building fires Morris departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 28 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 | 7 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 5 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Other | 3 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 10.7% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 7.1% |
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 Morris mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 3.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Morris departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Morris sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 22,728 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 2,950 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,784 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,800 | 45.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,540 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,308 | 13.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,100 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 919 | 35.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 890 | 17.8 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 700 | 18.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 660 | 18.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 657 | 48.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 631 | 42.2 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 Alabama cities with population within ±25% of Morris. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Morris.
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.