In 2025, fire departments serving Richwood responded to 20 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $3K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Aug peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
120 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $444K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 27 | +28.6% | |
| 2023 | 25 | -7.4% | |
| 2024 | 27 | +8.0% | |
| 2025 | 20 | -25.9% |
For the 2 building fires Richwood departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 82 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 | 33 | 40.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 13 | 15.9% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 11.0% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 8.5% |
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 Richwood mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 48 | 58.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 6.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 5 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Radiated heat from another fire | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Arcing | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 11.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Richwood departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,500 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Richwood sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,096 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 | 1,806 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 1,806 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 902 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 745 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 632 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 380 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 365 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Smoking | 325 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 274 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 214 | 46.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 210 | 21.2 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 71202 | 120 |
Six Louisiana cities with population within ±25% of Richwood. 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.