In 2025, fire departments serving North Salt Lake responded to 88 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 50% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
441 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $3.6M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 96 | — | |
| 2022 | 73 | -24.0% | |
| 2023 | 85 | +16.4% | |
| 2024 | 99 | +16.5% | |
| 2025 | 88 | -11.1% |
For the 3 building fires North Salt Lake departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 139 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 | 28 | 20.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 16 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 12 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 10 | 7.2% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 8 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Other | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 31 | 22.3% |
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 North Salt Lake mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 29 | 20.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 21 | 15.1% | |
| 3 | Fireworks | 18 | 12.9% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 17 | 12.2% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 13 | 9.4% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 6.5% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 9.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by North Salt Lake departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $18,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $16,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $7,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. North Salt Lake sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 264,216 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Natural | 44,345 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 24,594 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Firearms and explosives use | 16,267 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 16,116 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 15,330 | 17.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 14,293 | 36.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 13,926 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,584 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Firearms and explosives use | 9,880 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 9,000 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 7,828 | 32.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 7,620 | 43.4 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 Utah cities with population within ±25% of North Salt Lake. 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.