In 2025, fire departments serving Sumas responded to 37 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 76% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
172 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 34 | — | |
| 2022 | 31 | -8.8% | |
| 2023 | 37 | +19.4% | |
| 2024 | 33 | -10.8% | |
| 2025 | 37 | +12.1% |
For the 5 building fires Sumas departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 40 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 | 12 | 30.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 20.0% |
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 Sumas mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 20 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Conducted heat from another fire | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Incendiary device | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 5.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sumas departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $226,884 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $159,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sumas sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,168 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,162 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 426 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 304 | 40.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 255 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 173 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 14.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 94 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 67 | 16.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 61 | 7.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 61 | 27.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Fireworks | 50 | 14.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 48 | 25.9 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Washington cities with population within ±25% of Sumas. 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.