In 2025, fire departments serving Pagedale responded to 71 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 66% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
256 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $244K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 42 | — | |
| 2022 | 50 | +19.0% | |
| 2023 | 51 | +2.0% | |
| 2024 | 42 | -17.6% | |
| 2025 | 71 | +69.0% |
For the 17 building fires Pagedale departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 62 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 | 13 | 21.0% | |
| 2 | Other | 9 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 11.3% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 5 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 17.7% |
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 Pagedale mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 44 | 71.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 8 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 1.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pagedale departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $3,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pagedale sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
7 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 1 | |
| 20-29 | 1 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 2 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 1 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,627 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,475 | 24.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 42.6 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 270 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 225 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 150 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 56 | 39.0 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Missouri cities with population within ±25% of Pagedale. 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.