In 2025, fire departments serving Sallisaw responded to 57 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 79% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
474 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 84 | — | |
| 2022 | 112 | +33.3% | |
| 2023 | 113 | +0.9% | |
| 2024 | 108 | -4.4% | |
| 2025 | 57 | -47.2% |
For the 11 building fires Sallisaw departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 223 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 | 143 | 64.1% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 21 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Other | 13 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 1.3% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 5.8% |
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 Sallisaw mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 175 | 78.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 21 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 3.6% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 1.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 1.3% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 0.9% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 0.9% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 0.9% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 0.4% | |
| 10 | Arcing | 1 | 0.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 2.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sallisaw departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $22,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,500 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sallisaw sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 111,345 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 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,880 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 8,080 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,540 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,240 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,370 | 16.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,050 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,000 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,000 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,960 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,900 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,800 | 38.6 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 Oklahoma cities with population within ±25% of Sallisaw. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Sallisaw.
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.