In 2025, fire departments serving Oregon responded to 78 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 51% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
495 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $3.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 88 | — | |
| 2022 | 106 | +20.5% | |
| 2023 | 104 | -1.9% | |
| 2024 | 119 | +14.4% | |
| 2025 | 78 | -34.5% |
For the 14 building fires Oregon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 165 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 | 32 | 19.4% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 18 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 17 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 10 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Other | 7 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 40 | 24.2% |
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 Oregon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 70 | 42.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 16 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 19 | 11.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Oregon departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 90% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building or structure weakened or collapsed | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $12,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Oregon sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 23 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 961 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 26.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 21.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 6.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 22 | 18.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 21 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16 | 37.0 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 Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Oregon. 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.