In 2025, fire departments serving Port Allen responded to 62 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.5M 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 55% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
190 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 1 | — | |
| 2022* | 0 | — | |
| 2023 | 67 | — | |
| 2024 | 60 | -10.4% | |
| 2025 | 62 | +3.3% |
* Well below Port Allen's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 12 building fires Port Allen departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 93 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 | 27 | 29.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Other | 8 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Exterior, exposed surface | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - 5+ persons; including barrack/dormitory | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 23.7% |
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 Port Allen mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 63 | 67.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 8.6% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 7 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 8 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 5.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Port Allen departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 94% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,500,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $800,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $110,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Port Allen sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,260 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 400 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 230 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 200 | 28.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 192 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 170 | 46.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 160 | 35.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 158 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 38.9 mi |
Top 6 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Louisiana cities with population within ±25% of Port Allen. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Port Allen.
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.