In 2025, fire departments serving Piedmont responded to 56 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
291 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 73 | — | |
| 2022 | 59 | -19.2% | |
| 2023 | 63 | +6.8% | |
| 2024 | 40 | -36.5% | |
| 2025 | 56 | +40.0% |
For the 10 building fires Piedmont departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 76 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 | 24 | 31.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Other | 7 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Multiple areas | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 18.4% |
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 Piedmont mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 52 | 68.4% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 5.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Piedmont sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 31,498 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,761 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,521 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,422 | 8.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,146 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,595 | 9.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,365 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,227 | 16.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 971 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 956 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 911 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 876 | 48.1 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 Missouri cities with population within ±25% of Piedmont. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Piedmont.
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.