In 2025, fire departments serving Nome responded to 32 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
129 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.8M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 26 | +23.8% | |
| 2023 | 24 | -7.7% | |
| 2024 | 26 | +8.3% | |
| 2025 | 32 | +23.1% |
For the 4 building fires Nome departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 47 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 14.9% | |
| 2 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 6 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 6 | 12.8% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 25.5% |
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 Nome mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 40.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 8.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Nome departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $7,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,200 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Nome sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 4 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 663 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 381 | 45.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 160 | 46.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 22.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 42 | 11.2 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 | 99762 | 129 |
Six Alaska cities with population within ±25% of Nome. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Nome.
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.