In 2025, fire departments serving Payson responded to 87 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Attempted burning, illegal action, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
May peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
637 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $2.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 155 | — | |
| 2022 | 136 | -12.3% | |
| 2023 | 145 | +6.6% | |
| 2024 | 114 | -21.4% | |
| 2025 | 87 | -23.7% |
For the 5 building fires Payson 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 | 19 | 18.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 11 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 9.9% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 7 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 26 | 25.7% |
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 Payson mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 46 | 45.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 11 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Match | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 7.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Payson departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $28,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $4,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $900 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $50 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Payson sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,493,824 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 259,158 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 248,310 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 209,704 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 193,455 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 119,500 | 19.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 72,000 | 40.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 58,960 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 33,850 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 33,550 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 30,641 | 33.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Natural | 24,505 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 23,885 | 46.6 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 85541 | 637 |
Six Arizona cities with population within ±25% of Payson. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Payson.
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.