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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Newark, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Newark responded to 215 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $600K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A Peak yr 2024 Alameda County 47,470 residents 0 reporting departments 987 5-yr
Total incidents
215
-16.0% vs 2024
Building fires
11
Residential 64% Other 36%
Property loss
$2.4M
$1.6M structure · $869K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.

215
Total Incidents
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire 38 17.7%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 29 13.5%
Trash or rubbish fire, contained 24 11.2%
Cooking fire, confined to container 20 9.3%
Power line down 19 8.8%
All other categories 85 39.5%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Jan peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 33
Feb 11
Mar 16
Apr 8
May 26
Jun 19
Jul 27
Aug 24
Sep 19
Oct 11
Nov 9
Dec 12
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Newark

987 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $6.8M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 146 —
2022 178 +21.9%
2023 192 +7.9%
2024 256 +33.3%
2025 215 -16.0%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 11 building fires Newark departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
52%
16
Cause undetermined
16%
5
Intentional / arson
3%
1
Equipment / heat source failure
23%
7
Under investigation
6%
2
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Newark?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 144 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 originCountShare 
1 Undetermined 36 25.0%
2 Cooking area, kitchen 20 13.9%
3 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 14 9.7%
4 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 11 7.6%
5 Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. 6 4.2%
6 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 4 2.8%
7 Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room 4 2.8%
8 Laundry area, wash house (laundry) 4 2.8%
9 Storage room, area, tank, or bin 3 2.1%
10 Equipment or service area, other 3 2.1%
11 All other areas 39 27.1%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 Newark mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 66 45.8%
2 Arcing 17 11.8%
3 Hot or smoldering object, other 14 9.7%
4 Heat from powered equipment, other 13 9.0%
5 Heat source: other 12 8.3%
6 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 10 6.9%
7 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 2 1.4%
8 Heat, spark from friction 2 1.4%
9 Fireworks 2 1.4%
10 Hot ember or ash 1 0.7%
11 All other sources 5 3.5%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $1.5M in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Newark departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $600,000 Building fires Major Investigated
2 $500,000 Outside equipment fire Major Investigated
3 $150,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
4 $110,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
5 $50,000 Grass fire Significant Investigated
6 $35,000 Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire Significant Investigated
7 $30,000 Road freight or transport vehicle fire Significant Investigated
8 $20,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
05 How Newark compares

Newark vs California vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Newark sits below the national average for incidents per resident.

4.53
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Newark
4.53
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.23
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Newark
0.23
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Newark
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Newark

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 679,353 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 396,624 26.2 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 86,509 20.8 mi
2007 Recreation and ceremony 47,760 36.2 mi
2006 Equipment and vehicle use 34,271 42.0 mi
2003 Natural 30,170 46.3 mi
2009 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 12,200 28.1 mi
2009 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 7,817 27.2 mi
2003 Equipment and vehicle use 6,804 36.6 mi
2005 Arson/incendiarism 6,744 24.7 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 5,513 44.5 mi
2003 Natural 5,018 34.0 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 4,474 30.6 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Newark do fires concentrate?

Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 94560 982
2 94538 3
3 94555 2
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Newark

Six California cities with population within ±25% of Newark. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.