In 2025, fire departments serving Ozark responded to 57 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K 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 68% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
336 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 66 | — | |
| 2022 | 94 | +42.4% | |
| 2023 | 56 | -40.4% | |
| 2024 | 63 | +12.5% | |
| 2025 | 57 | -9.5% |
For the 8 building fires Ozark departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 114 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 | 23 | 20.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 13.2% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 6 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 5 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Other | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 27 | 23.7% |
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 Ozark mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 60 | 52.6% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 9.6% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Match | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 7.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ozark departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 91% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $45,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ozark sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 45,918 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Natural | 4,000 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,800 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,285 | 16.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,240 | 41.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,770 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 2,135 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,108 | 40.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 2,085 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,014 | 33.6 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,920 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,626 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,605 | 42.3 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 Arkansas cities with population within ±25% of Ozark. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ozark.
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.