In 2025, fire departments serving Pea Ridge responded to 127 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $23K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
526 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $513K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 74 | — | |
| 2022 | 107 | +44.6% | |
| 2023 | 100 | -6.5% | |
| 2024 | 118 | +18.0% | |
| 2025 | 127 | +7.6% |
For the 8 building fires Pea Ridge departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 144 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 | 29 | 20.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 26 | 18.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 21 | 14.6% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 10.4% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Other | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 15.3% |
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 Pea Ridge mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 54 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 11 | 7.6% | |
| 3 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 11 | 7.6% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Match | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 23 | 16.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pea Ridge departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $23,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $7,115 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $6,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pea Ridge sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 29,276 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,800 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,580 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,850 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,500 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 1,300 | 37.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,265 | 42.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,010 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 48.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 47.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 994 | 19.8 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 | 72751 | 526 |
Six Arkansas cities with population within ±25% of Pea Ridge. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Pea Ridge.
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.