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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Redwood City, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Redwood City responded to 419 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade B+ Peak yr 2023 San Mateo County 83,077 residents 0 reporting departments 2,755 5-yr
Total incidents
419
-15.4% vs 2024
Building fires
18
Residential 67% Other 33%
Property loss
$855K
$655K structure · $199K contents
Deaths & injuries
3 / 2
3 civilian deaths · 2 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 58% of all calls.

419
Total Incidents
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other 79 18.9%
Outside rubbish fire, other 57 13.6%
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire 51 12.2%
Power line down 28 6.7%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 27 6.4%
All other categories 177 42.2%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Jun peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 46
Feb 33
Mar 40
Apr 23
May 30
Jun 49
Jul 30
Aug 33
Sep 35
Oct 27
Nov 31
Dec 42
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Redwood City

2,755 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $15.6M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 562 —
2022 618 +10.0%
2023 661 +7.0%
2024 495 -25.1%
2025 419 -15.4%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 18 building fires Redwood City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
32%
21
Cause undetermined
21%
14
Intentional / arson
14%
9
Equipment / heat source failure
14%
9
Under investigation
20%
13
Act of nature (lightning)
-1%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Redwood City?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 284 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 originCountShare 
1 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 36 12.7%
2 Outside area, other 26 9.2%
3 Undetermined 25 8.8%
4 Other 20 7.0%
5 Cooking area, kitchen 19 6.7%
6 Vehicle area, other 19 6.7%
7 Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles 18 6.3%
8 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 12 4.2%
9 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 9 3.2%
10 Laundry area, wash house (laundry) 8 2.8%
11 All other areas 92 32.4%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 Redwood City mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 132 46.5%
2 Heat source: other 41 14.4%
3 Heat from powered equipment, other 32 11.3%
4 Arcing 9 3.2%
5 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 7 2.5%
6 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 7 2.5%
7 Hot or smoldering object, other 7 2.5%
8 Hot ember or ash 7 2.5%
9 Candle 7 2.5%
10 Cigarette 6 2.1%
11 All other sources 29 10.2%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $600K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Redwood City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 92% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $150,000 Fire in portable building, fixed location Significant Investigated
2 $100,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
3 $100,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
4 $80,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
5 $75,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
6 $40,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
7 $35,000 Fire in portable building, fixed location Significant Investigated
8 $20,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
05 How Redwood City compares

Redwood City vs California vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Redwood City sits below the national average for incidents per resident.

5.04
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Redwood City
5.04
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.22
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Redwood City
0.22
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
36.1
Civilian fire deaths per million
Redwood City
36.1
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5b Who gets hurt

Casualty demographics in Redwood City

19 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.

AgeCount 
0-9 0
10-19 0
20-29 2
30-39 4
40-49 4
50-59 4
60-69 2
70-79 2
80+ 1
Civilian vs firefighter
Civilian 15 FF 4
Gender
M 13 F 6 Unk 0
Severity (1=minor → 5=fatal)
5
1
7
2
1
3
3
4
3
5
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Redwood City

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 614,125 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 396,624 36.5 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 86,509 16.9 mi
2007 Recreation and ceremony 47,760 44.7 mi
2009 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 12,200 38.7 mi
2009 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 7,817 24.6 mi
2003 Equipment and vehicle use 6,804 47.4 mi
2005 Arson/incendiarism 6,744 35.2 mi
2003 Natural 5,018 44.5 mi
2020 Natural 4,929 48.9 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 4,474 34.8 mi
2020 Natural 4,279 42.0 mi
2008 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 4,270 30.1 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Redwood City do fires concentrate?

Top 10 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 94063 1,548
2 94061 754
3 94062 390
4 94070 21
5 94025 20
6 94010 8
7 94404 5
8 94065 4
9 90001 1
10 94014 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Redwood City

Six California cities with population within ±25% of Redwood City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.