In 2025, fire departments serving Richland responded to 83 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Aircraft standby lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 58% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
515 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $505K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 85 | — | |
| 2022 | 136 | +60.0% | |
| 2023 | 113 | -16.9% | |
| 2024 | 98 | -13.3% | |
| 2025 | 83 | -15.3% |
For the 12 building fires Richland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 165 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 | Outside area, other | 45 | 27.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 30 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 19 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 16 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 7.3% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Other | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 13.3% |
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 Richland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 91 | 55.2% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 7.3% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 4.2% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 19 | 11.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Richland departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $250 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Richland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 27,409 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,500 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,855 | 28.3 mi | |
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 2,245 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,160 | 23.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,249 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,212 | 18.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 1,049 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,027 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,005 | 31.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 943 | 30.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 844 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 789 | 13.2 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 Missouri cities with population within ±25% of Richland. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Richland.
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.