In 2025, fire departments serving Plain Dealing responded to 46 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 67% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
353 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50 | — | |
| 2022 | 83 | +66.0% | |
| 2023 | 77 | -7.2% | |
| 2024 | 97 | +26.0% | |
| 2025 | 46 | -52.6% |
For the 10 building fires Plain Dealing departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 156 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 | 45 | 28.8% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 28 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 13 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 12 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Other | 9 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 9 | 5.8% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 12.2% |
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 Plain Dealing mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 64 | 41.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 19 | 12.2% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 14 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 10 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 15 | 9.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Plain Dealing departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,500 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Plain Dealing sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 57,979 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 41,050 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,378 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,036 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,465 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,299 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,048 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 902 | 20.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 902 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 727 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 669 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 557 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 537 | 43.8 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 | 71064 | 353 |
Six Louisiana cities with population within ±25% of Plain Dealing. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Plain Dealing.
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.