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In 2025, fire departments serving Redmond responded to 482 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 55% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,859 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $7.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 266 | — | |
| 2022 | 312 | +17.3% | |
| 2023 | 400 | +28.2% | |
| 2024 | 399 | -0.2% | |
| 2025 | 482 | +20.8% |
For the 30 building fires Redmond departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 445 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 | 135 | 30.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 77 | 17.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 30 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 28 | 6.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 25 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Other | 22 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 14 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 9 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 9 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 9 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 87 | 19.6% |
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 Redmond mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 230 | 51.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 38 | 8.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 24 | 5.4% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 21 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 18 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 15 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 14 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 11 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 57 | 12.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Redmond departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 81% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $253,635 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $216,266 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $142,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $90,182 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $82,500 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $48,746 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $45,022 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Redmond sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 761,584 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Natural | 204,469 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 79,734 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 66,613 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 53,000 | 38.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Other causes | 33,490 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 29,500 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 26,795 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 24,025 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 23,573 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 22,760 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 18,500 | 32.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 18,086 | 37.7 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Oregon cities with population within ±25% of Redmond. 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.