In 2025, fire departments serving Patterson responded to 42 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K 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 74% of all calls.
May peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
287 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $223K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 85 | — | |
| 2022 | 55 | -35.3% | |
| 2023 | 58 | +5.5% | |
| 2024 | 47 | -19.0% | |
| 2025 | 42 | -10.6% |
For the 10 building fires Patterson departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 101 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 | 35 | 34.7% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 19 | 18.8% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 7 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 12.9% |
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 Patterson mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 63 | 62.4% | |
| 2 | Cigarette lighter | 9 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 3.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Patterson departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Patterson sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 6 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 880 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 614 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 75 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 70 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 55 | 23.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 47 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 19 | 28.4 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 Louisiana cities with population within ±25% of Patterson. 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.