In 2025, fire departments serving Somerton responded to 69 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Trash or rubbish fire, contained lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 58% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
330 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55 | — | |
| 2022 | 47 | -14.5% | |
| 2023 | 70 | +48.9% | |
| 2024 | 89 | +27.1% | |
| 2025 | 69 | -22.5% |
For the 2 building fires Somerton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 131 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 | 52 | 39.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 14 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 8.4% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 8.4% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Other | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 13.0% |
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 Somerton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 75 | 57.3% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 19 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 7 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 4.6% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 9 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 6.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Somerton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,500 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,500 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Somerton sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 29,452 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,169 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 4,600 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,200 | 30.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,400 | 26.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1,800 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Firearms and explosives use | 1,313 | 23.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Fireworks | 1,285 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,203 | 20.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,110 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 923 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 836 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 751 | 18.7 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 Arizona cities with population within ±25% of Somerton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Somerton.
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.