In 2025, fire departments serving Natalbany responded to 10 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $8K 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 80% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
79 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $246K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 4 | — | |
| 2022* | 1 | — | |
| 2023 | 37 | — | |
| 2024 | 27 | -27.0% | |
| 2025 | 10 | -63.0% |
* Well below Natalbany'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 2 building fires Natalbany departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 58 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 | 17 | 29.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 11 | 19.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Structural area, other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Vacant structural area | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 13.8% |
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 Natalbany mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 40 | 69.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 5 | 8.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Match | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Natalbany departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $7,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $4,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Natalbany sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 15,568 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,922 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 1,500 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 12.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 893 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 32.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 725 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 641 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 600 | 37.4 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 570 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 550 | 32.5 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 520 | 41.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 26.0 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 Louisiana cities with population within ±25% of Natalbany. 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.