In 2025, fire departments serving Saratoga Springs responded to 61 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $70K 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 61% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
476 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 102 | — | |
| 2022 | 117 | +14.7% | |
| 2023 | 114 | -2.6% | |
| 2024 | 82 | -28.1% | |
| 2025 | 61 | -25.6% |
For the 2 building fires Saratoga Springs departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 109 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 | 18 | 16.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 16 | 14.7% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 13.8% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 12 | 11.0% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 7 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Other | 5 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 21.1% |
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 Saratoga Springs mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 36 | 33.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 17 | 15.6% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 7 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Chemical reaction | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 12.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Saratoga Springs departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $70,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $600 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $300 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Saratoga Springs sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 602,909 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Natural | 102,191 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 44,345 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 38,190 | 43.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 37,923 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 33,838 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 31,661 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 31,010 | 39.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 28,540 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25,456 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 22,045 | 35.3 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 20,700 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 18,620 | 33.9 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 Utah cities with population within ±25% of Saratoga Springs. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Saratoga Springs.
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.