In 2025, fire departments serving Terrytown responded to 148 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 60% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
799 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $4.7M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 179 | — | |
| 2022 | 192 | +7.3% | |
| 2023 | 132 | -31.2% | |
| 2024 | 148 | +12.1% | |
| 2025 | 148 | +0.0% |
For the 33 building fires Terrytown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 192 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 | 30 | 15.6% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 25 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 21 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 19 | 9.9% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 14 | 7.3% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 10 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 9 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 47 | 24.5% |
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 Terrytown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 125 | 65.1% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 11 | 5.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Match | 8 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 7.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Terrytown departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 86% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $67,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $35,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $32,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Terrytown sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 24,758 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,708 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,922 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,600 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 1,507 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 1,500 | 14.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,178 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,078 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 893 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 886 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 857 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 31.2 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 Louisiana cities with population within ±25% of Terrytown. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Terrytown.
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.