In 2025, fire departments serving Salina responded to 23 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 95% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
178 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $471K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 56 | +124.0% | |
| 2023 | 35 | -37.5% | |
| 2024 | 39 | +11.4% | |
| 2025 | 23 | -41.0% |
For the 7 building fires Salina departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 38 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 | Wildland, woods | 17 | 44.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 9 | 23.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 13.2% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 2.6% |
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 Salina mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 28.9% | |
| 2 | Incendiary device | 10 | 26.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 15.8% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 2.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Salina departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Salina sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 72,936 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14,000 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,120 | 14.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,050 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,900 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,700 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,700 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,200 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,200 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,580 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,500 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,400 | 47.3 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 | 74365 | 178 |
Six Oklahoma cities with population within ±25% of Salina. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Salina.
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.