In 2025, fire departments serving Mountain View responded to 35 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 66% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
283 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.4M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 66 | — | |
| 2022 | 53 | -19.7% | |
| 2023 | 61 | +15.1% | |
| 2024 | 68 | +11.5% | |
| 2025 | 35 | -48.5% |
For the 6 building fires Mountain View departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 157 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 | 53 | 33.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 22 | 14.0% | |
| 3 | Other | 13 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Exterior, exposed surface | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 28 | 17.8% |
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 Mountain View mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 89 | 56.7% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 5.7% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 7 | 4.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 7 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 7 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 18 | 11.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Mountain View departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $99,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $80,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $13,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,500 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $100 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mountain View sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 31,044 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,983 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 2,008 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,779 | 13.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,653 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 1,631 | 29.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,591 | 17.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 1,470 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,350 | 30.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,340 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 26.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,063 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,052 | 41.4 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Arkansas cities with population within ±25% of Mountain View. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Mountain View.
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.