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In 2025, fire departments serving Oak Creek responded to 17 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $3 building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Attempted burning, illegal action, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 59% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
125 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26 | — | |
| 2022 | 20 | -23.1% | |
| 2023 | 32 | +60.0% | |
| 2024 | 30 | -6.2% | |
| 2025 | 17 | -43.3% |
For the 0 building fires Oak Creek departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 22 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 | 5 | 22.7% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 7 | Interior stairway or ramp | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 13.6% |
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 Oak Creek mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 6 | 27.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 22.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 5 | 22.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 4.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Oak Creek departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Oak Creek sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 405,925 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 193,812 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 38,380 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | 28,584 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 20,517 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 20,120 | 16.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 17,056 | 26.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 16,852 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 14,403 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 13,493 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 5,967 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 5,538 | 18.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 4,417 | 38.8 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 Colorado cities with population within ±25% of Oak Creek. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Oak Creek.
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.