In 2025, fire departments serving Overton responded to 13 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $85K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 85% of all calls.
May peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
91 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 17 | — | |
| 2022 | 20 | +17.6% | |
| 2023 | 24 | +20.0% | |
| 2024 | 17 | -29.2% | |
| 2025 | 13 | -23.5% |
For the 1 building fires Overton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 67 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 28 | 41.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 22.4% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 13.4% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 5 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 7 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 4.5% |
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 Overton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 14 | 20.9% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 12 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 8 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 10.4% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 7 | 10.4% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 5 | 7.5% | |
| 7 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 4.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Overton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $85,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,000 | Power line down | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,500 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $700 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $600 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Overton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 17,251 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 5,000 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 1,520 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,200 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 900 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 640 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 600 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 500 | 22.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 480 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 450 | 35.6 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Nebraska cities with population within ±25% of Overton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Overton.
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.