In 2025, fire departments serving Ocean Park responded to 98 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $244K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
543 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.4M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 115 | — | |
| 2022 | 144 | +25.2% | |
| 2023 | 114 | -20.8% | |
| 2024 | 72 | -36.8% | |
| 2025 | 98 | +36.1% |
For the 6 building fires Ocean Park departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 160 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 | 29 | 18.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 23 | 14.4% | |
| 3 | Other | 14 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 39 | 24.4% |
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 Ocean Park mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 69 | 43.1% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 7.5% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 8 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Molten, hot material | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 24 | 15.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ocean Park departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $243,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $6,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ocean Park sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,874 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 254 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 143 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 127 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 119 | 15.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Fireworks | 110 | 19.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Debris and open burning | 102 | 15.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 12.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Equipment and vehicle use | 98 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 85 | 12.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 85 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 58 | 47.4 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 98640 | 543 |
Six Washington cities with population within ±25% of Ocean Park. 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.