In 2025, fire departments serving Seward responded to 63 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K 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 52% of all calls.
May peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
230 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 37 | — | |
| 2022 | 46 | +24.3% | |
| 2023 | 36 | -21.7% | |
| 2024 | 48 | +33.3% | |
| 2025 | 63 | +31.2% |
For the 13 building fires Seward departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 89 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 | 9 | 10.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 8 | 9.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 7 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 7 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Other | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Undetermined | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 28 | 31.5% |
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 Seward mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 31 | 34.8% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 8 | 9.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 6 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 6 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Match | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 11.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Seward departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 88% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $32,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $11,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Seward sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 18 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,663 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Smoking | 5,200 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 3,260 | 20.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 925 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 697 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 573 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 513 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 150 | 30.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 85 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 61 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 46 | 35.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 31.3 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 31 | 47.5 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Alaska cities with population within ±25% of Seward. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Seward.
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.