In 2025, fire departments serving Sun Lakes responded to 52 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Jan peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
229 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $628K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44 | — | |
| 2022 | 45 | +2.3% | |
| 2023 | 36 | -20.0% | |
| 2024 | 52 | +44.4% | |
| 2025 | 52 | +0.0% |
For the 7 building fires Sun Lakes departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 62 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 | 16 | 25.8% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 11.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 7 | 11.3% | |
| 4 | Other | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 19.4% |
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 Sun Lakes mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 29.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 21.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 12 | 19.4% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 4.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sun Lakes departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sun Lakes sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 659,239 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 193,455 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Recreation and ceremony | 123,875 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 72,000 | 38.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 58,960 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 24,729 | 35.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Natural | 24,505 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Recreation and ceremony | 17,131 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 16,100 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14,534 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14,476 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 11,000 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 9,539 | 30.8 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 Arizona cities with population within ±25% of Sun Lakes. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Sun Lakes.
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.