In 2025, fire departments serving River Ridge responded to 55 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
328 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 91 | — | |
| 2022 | 49 | -46.2% | |
| 2023 | 65 | +32.7% | |
| 2024 | 68 | +4.6% | |
| 2025 | 55 | -19.1% |
For the 8 building fires River Ridge departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 65 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 12.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 6 | 9.2% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 5 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 10 | Corridor, mall | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 33.8% |
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 River Ridge mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 36.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 9 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Conducted heat from another fire | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 10.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by River Ridge departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Arcing, shorted electrical equipment | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. River Ridge sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 19,388 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,922 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,600 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 1,507 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 1,500 | 20.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 893 | 7.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 886 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 798 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 725 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 641 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 614 | 46.0 mi |
Top 6 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Louisiana cities with population within ±25% of River Ridge. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in River Ridge.
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.