In 2025, fire departments serving Oakland responded to 188 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 59% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
817 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 128 | — | |
| 2022 | 133 | +3.9% | |
| 2023 | 184 | +38.3% | |
| 2024 | 184 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 188 | +2.2% |
For the 35 building fires Oakland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 88 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 | Undetermined | 24 | 27.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 10.2% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Other | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Closet | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 25 | 28.4% |
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 Oakland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 41 | 46.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 8 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 4 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 12 | 13.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Oakland departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $4,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Oakland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 13,781 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Natural | 2,743 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,800 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,611 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,289 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 888 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 755 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 610 | 46.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 546 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 480 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 467 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 428 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 27.1 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Maryland cities with population within ±25% of Oakland. 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.