In 2025, fire departments serving Newport responded to 120 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K 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 58% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
555 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $3.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 87 | — | |
| 2022 | 138 | +58.6% | |
| 2023 | 78 | -43.5% | |
| 2024 | 132 | +69.2% | |
| 2025 | 120 | -9.1% |
For the 18 building fires Newport departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 202 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 | 40 | 19.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 29 | 14.4% | |
| 3 | Other | 18 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 16 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 7 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 55 | 27.2% |
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 Newport mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 106 | 52.5% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 14 | 6.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 5.4% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 10 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 8 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 7 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 7 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Match | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 7.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Newport departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $249,409 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $135,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $17,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Newport sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 71,744 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Natural | 12,764 | 17.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 7,871 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 7,700 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 5,850 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 4,975 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 3,840 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,449 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 3,082 | 41.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 3,020 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,873 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 1,794 | 43.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 1,522 | 46.4 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 | 99156 | 555 |
Six Washington cities with population within ±25% of Newport. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Newport.
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.