In 2025, fire departments serving North Kansas City responded to 58 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $80K 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. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
267 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $5.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44 | — | |
| 2022 | 50 | +13.6% | |
| 2023 | 64 | +28.0% | |
| 2024 | 51 | -20.3% | |
| 2025 | 58 | +13.7% |
For the 2 building fires North Kansas City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 48 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 | Outside area, other | 9 | 18.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 14.6% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 12.5% |
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 North Kansas City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 10.4% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by North Kansas City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $65,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,500 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. North Kansas City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,271 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 902 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 900 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 19.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 750 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 667 | 35.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 45.9 mi |
Top 3 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 North Kansas City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in North Kansas City.
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.