In 2025, fire departments serving Nixa responded to 255 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K 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 53% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,031 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $3.7M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 154 | — | |
| 2022 | 181 | +17.5% | |
| 2023 | 234 | +29.3% | |
| 2024 | 207 | -11.5% | |
| 2025 | 255 | +23.2% |
For the 35 building fires Nixa departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 253 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 49 | 19.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 46 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 29 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 12 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Other | 9 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 7 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 59 | 23.3% |
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 Nixa mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 99 | 39.1% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 23 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 15 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 14 | 5.5% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 14 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 9 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 9 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 46 | 18.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Nixa 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 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $232,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,750 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Nixa sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 24,774 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,471 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,121 | 22.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,101 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,732 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,625 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,212 | 21.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,178 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,034 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,016 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,005 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 889 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 772 | 33.3 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Missouri cities with population within ±25% of Nixa. 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.