In 2025, fire departments serving Solomon responded to 24 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K 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 71% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
142 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 30 | — | |
| 2022 | 25 | -16.7% | |
| 2023 | 22 | -12.0% | |
| 2024 | 41 | +86.4% | |
| 2025 | 24 | -41.5% |
For the 6 building fires Solomon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 34 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 | 13 | 38.2% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 20.6% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 17.6% | |
| 4 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 5 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Machinery room or area; elevator machinery room | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 2.9% |
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 Solomon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 27 | 79.4% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 3 | Lightning | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 2.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Solomon departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $160,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $160,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $160,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $8,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Solomon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 81,966 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,000 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,500 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,289 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,278 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,000 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,800 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,840 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,500 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,200 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 39.4 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 67480 | 142 |
Six Kansas cities with population within ±25% of Solomon. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Solomon.
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.