In 2025, fire departments serving Nortonville responded to 13 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 77% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
83 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $369K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 16 | — | |
| 2022 | 20 | +25.0% | |
| 2023 | 18 | -10.0% | |
| 2024 | 16 | -11.1% | |
| 2025 | 13 | -18.8% |
For the 1 building fires Nortonville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 40 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 | 15 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 10 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Wall assembly | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 7.5% |
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 Nortonville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Other static discharge | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 12.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Nortonville departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $3,000 | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Nortonville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 41,258 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,000 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,000 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,800 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1,700 | 32.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,600 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1,250 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,200 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 940 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 900 | 10.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 26.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 14.3 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 Kansas cities with population within ±25% of Nortonville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Nortonville.
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.