In 2025, fire departments serving Sandy responded to 40 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $697K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
228 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $3.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 62 | — | |
| 2022 | 33 | -46.8% | |
| 2023 | 39 | +18.2% | |
| 2024 | 54 | +38.5% | |
| 2025 | 40 | -25.9% |
For the 11 building fires Sandy departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 43 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 | 10 | 23.3% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 14.0% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 14.0% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 6 | 14.0% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 4 | 9.3% | |
| 6 | Closet | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 11.6% |
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 Sandy mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 25.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 11.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sandy departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $697,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $200 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sandy sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 327,414 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Natural | 44,345 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 31,661 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 31,010 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 22,045 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 18,620 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 16,116 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 15,330 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 14,293 | 38.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 13,926 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,584 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 9,159 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 9,000 | 10.9 mi |
Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Utah cities with population within ±25% of Sandy. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Sandy.
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.