In 2025, fire departments serving Morton responded to 30 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 77% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
150 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $433K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43 | — | |
| 2022 | 25 | -41.9% | |
| 2023 | 25 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 27 | +8.0% | |
| 2025 | 30 | +11.1% |
For the 7 building fires Morton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 88 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 | 27.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 11 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Other | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 26.1% |
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 Morton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 35 | 39.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Match | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 8.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Morton departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Morton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 63,262 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 24,995 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 20,296 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 5,428 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 4,728 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 1,200 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 523 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 494 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 485 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 483 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 420 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 384 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 359 | 14.2 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 | 98356 | 150 |
Six Washington cities with population within ±25% of Morton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Morton.
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.