In 2025, fire departments serving Republic responded to 130 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $240K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 45% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
661 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $4.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 136 | — | |
| 2022 | 140 | +2.9% | |
| 2023 | 126 | -10.0% | |
| 2024 | 129 | +2.4% | |
| 2025 | 130 | +0.8% |
For the 15 building fires Republic departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 228 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 | 56 | 24.6% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 43 | 18.9% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 17 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 16 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 12 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Other | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 42 | 18.4% |
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 Republic mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 155 | 68.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 4.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 3.9% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 9 | 3.9% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 8 | 3.5% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 8 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 4 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 12 | 5.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Republic departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $240,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $75,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Republic sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 22,847 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,471 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,121 | 32.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,732 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,625 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,212 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,178 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,034 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,016 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,005 | 44.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 790 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 772 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 733 | 39.1 mi |
Top 8 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Missouri cities with population within ±25% of Republic. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Republic.
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.