In 2025, fire departments serving Ocean Springs responded to 93 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Passenger vehicle fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 49% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
689 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 135 | — | |
| 2022 | 153 | +13.3% | |
| 2023 | 177 | +15.7% | |
| 2024 | 131 | -26.0% | |
| 2025 | 93 | -29.0% |
For the 7 building fires Ocean Springs departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 192 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 | 66 | 34.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 25 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 13 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 40 | 20.8% |
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 Springs mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 100 | 52.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 6.8% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 11 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Lightning | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 23 | 12.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ocean Springs departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ocean Springs sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 46,739 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,394 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 4,248 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,708 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,000 | 31.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,500 | 12.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,135 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 2,100 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 1,824 | 14.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,698 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,600 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 1,594 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 1,507 | 45.8 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 Mississippi cities with population within ±25% of Ocean Springs. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ocean Springs.
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.