In 2025, fire departments serving Mount Rainier responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 86% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
214 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $300K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45 | — | |
| 2022 | 49 | +8.9% | |
| 2023 | 47 | -4.1% | |
| 2024 | 45 | -4.3% | |
| 2025 | 28 | -37.8% |
For the 7 building fires Mount Rainier departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 39 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 | 13 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Closet | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 9 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 15.4% |
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 Mount Rainier mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 28 | 71.8% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 2.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Mount Rainier departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mount Rainier sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,534 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 640 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 500 | 14.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 21.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 431 | 14.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 408 | 30.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 405 | 48.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 344 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 318 | 34.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 35.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 36.3 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Maryland cities with population within ±25% of Mount Rainier. 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.