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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in San Marino, California

In 2025, fire departments serving San Marino responded to 70 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A Peak yr 2023 Los Angeles County 12,442 residents 0 reporting departments 297 5-yr
Total incidents
70
+59.1% vs 2024
Building fires
14
Residential 64% Other 36%
Property loss
$167K
$144K structure · $23K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 77% of all calls.

70
Total Incidents
Hazardous condition, other 20 28.6%
Building fires 14 20.0%
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other 9 12.9%
Cooking fire, confined to container 6 8.6%
Power line down 5 7.1%
All other categories 16 22.9%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Jan peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 20
Feb 12
Mar 6
Apr 8
May 7
Jun 4
Jul 5
Aug 3
Sep 3
Oct 2
Nov 0
Dec 0
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in San Marino

297 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.1M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 53 —
2022 60 +13.2%
2023 70 +16.7%
2024 44 -37.1%
2025 70 +59.1%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 14 building fires San Marino departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
22%
2
Cause undetermined
22%
2
Intentional / arson
0%
0
Equipment / heat source failure
33%
3
Under investigation
11%
1
Act of nature (lightning)
12%
1
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in San Marino?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 55 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 originCountShare 
1 Outside area, other 14 25.5%
2 Cooking area, kitchen 11 20.0%
3 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 6 10.9%
4 Other 5 9.1%
5 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 3 5.5%
6 Laundry area, wash house (laundry) 2 3.6%
7 Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola 2 3.6%
8 Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace 2 3.6%
9 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 1 1.8%
10 Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service 1 1.8%
11 All other areas 8 14.5%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 San Marino mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 16 29.1%
2 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 6 10.9%
3 Arcing 6 10.9%
4 Cigarette lighter 5 9.1%
5 Heat from powered equipment, other 4 7.3%
6 Heat source: other 2 3.6%
7 Heat from other open flame or smoking materials 2 3.6%
8 Match 2 3.6%
9 Flame/torch used for lighting 2 3.6%
10 Hot or smoldering object, other 1 1.8%
11 All other sources 9 16.4%
04 The biggest fires

5 fires · $144K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by San Marino departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $100,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
2 $30,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
3 $10,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
4 $3,000 Fire, other Significant Investigated
5 $1,000 Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue Significant Investigated
05 How San Marino compares

San Marino vs California vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. San Marino sits below the national average for incidents per resident.

5.63
Incidents per 1,000 residents
San Marino
5.63
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
1.13
Building fires per 1,000 residents
San Marino
1.13
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
San Marino
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of San Marino

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,247,648 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2009 Arson/incendiarism 160,371 9.4 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 115,997 12.4 mi
2003 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 108,204 36.5 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 96,949 34.5 mi
2003 Arson/incendiarism 91,281 48.1 mi
2003 Equipment and vehicle use 63,720 44.7 mi
2003 Arson/incendiarism 59,788 36.3 mi
2007 Power generation/transmission/distribution 45,300 45.6 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 41,432 27.0 mi
2007 Misuse of fire by a minor 38,356 30.5 mi
1993 Arson/incendiarism 38,152 43.2 mi
2002 Arson/incendiarism 37,240 20.1 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in San Marino do fires concentrate?

Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 91108 293
2 91030 1
3 91101 1
4 91801 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to San Marino

Six California cities with population within ±25% of San Marino. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.