In 2025, fire departments serving South Ogden responded to 121 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $3K 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 58% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
520 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 85 | — | |
| 2022 | 75 | -11.8% | |
| 2023 | 114 | +52.0% | |
| 2024 | 125 | +9.6% | |
| 2025 | 121 | -3.2% |
For the 9 building fires South Ogden departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 99 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 | 14 | 14.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 14 | 14.1% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 13 | 13.1% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 5 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 27 | 27.3% |
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 South Ogden mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 20 | 20.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 14 | 14.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 11 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 10.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 7 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 5 | 5.1% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Radiated heat from another fire | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 10.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by South Ogden departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $300 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. South Ogden sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 230,939 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Natural | 40,000 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 24,594 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Firearms and explosives use | 16,267 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 16,116 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 15,330 | 20.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 14,293 | 47.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 10,500 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Firearms and explosives use | 9,880 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9,000 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Firearms and explosives use | 6,848 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,403 | 29.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 5,500 | 38.3 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 South Ogden. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.