In 2025, fire departments serving Rapid City responded to 51 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 78% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
335 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.5M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 72 | — | |
| 2022 | 82 | +13.9% | |
| 2023 | 70 | -14.6% | |
| 2024 | 60 | -14.3% | |
| 2025 | 51 | -15.0% |
For the 7 building fires Rapid City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 71 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 14.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 9 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 7 | 9.9% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 7.0% | |
| 7 | Other | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 26.8% |
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 Rapid City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 36.6% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 18 | 25.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Match | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 8.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rapid City departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rapid City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 20,457 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 | 8,586 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,250 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,900 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1,345 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 1,040 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 844 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 817 | 24.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 628 | 42.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 484 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 448 | 49.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 32.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 28.6 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 Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Rapid City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Rapid City.
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.