In 2025, fire departments serving Orting responded to 99 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
636 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 114 | — | |
| 2022 | 140 | +22.8% | |
| 2023 | 158 | +12.9% | |
| 2024 | 125 | -20.9% | |
| 2025 | 99 | -20.8% |
For the 5 building fires Orting departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 122 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 | 44 | 36.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 11 | 9.0% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 10 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Other | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 27 | 22.1% |
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 Orting mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 61 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 16 | 13.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 6.6% | |
| 4 | Fireworks | 6 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 10.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Orting departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Orting sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 63,580 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52,056 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 3,853 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,061 | 36.7 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 594 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 523 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 494 | 9.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 420 | 23.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 384 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 360 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 359 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 321 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 310 | 25.4 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 | 98360 | 636 |
Six Washington cities with population within ±25% of Orting. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Orting.
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.