In 2025, fire departments serving Pass Christian responded to 62 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $115K 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 63% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
265 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53 | — | |
| 2022 | 37 | -30.2% | |
| 2023 | 58 | +56.8% | |
| 2024 | 55 | -5.2% | |
| 2025 | 62 | +12.7% |
For the 11 building fires Pass Christian departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 96 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 | 26 | 27.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 14.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Wall assembly | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Corridor, mall | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 26 | 27.1% |
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 Pass Christian mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 49 | 51.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 10.4% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 7 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 7.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pass Christian departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $115,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $85,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $8,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,750 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pass Christian sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 42,142 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 | 4,248 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,708 | 16.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,000 | 14.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,500 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,135 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,922 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 1,824 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,698 | 7.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,600 | 14.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 1,507 | 18.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 1,500 | 43.2 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,500 | 49.7 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 Mississippi cities with population within ±25% of Pass Christian. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Pass Christian.
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.