In 2025, fire departments serving Pearl City responded to 123 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $22K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
720 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 160 | — | |
| 2022 | 115 | -28.1% | |
| 2023 | 151 | +31.3% | |
| 2024 | 171 | +13.2% | |
| 2025 | 123 | -28.1% |
For the 1 building fires Pearl City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 106 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 43 | 40.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 18 | 17.0% | |
| 3 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 8 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Entrance way, lobby | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 13.2% |
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 Pearl City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 72 | 67.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 5.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 5.7% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 2.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pearl City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $22,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,500 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pearl City sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 33,954 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,000 | 13.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,820 | 16.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,800 | 10.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,100 | 14.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,700 | 13.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,700 | 13.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,507 | 11.8 mi | |
| 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 20.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,235 | 14.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 20.8 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 16.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 13.6 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 Hawaii cities with population within ±25% of Pearl City. 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.