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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Union City, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Union City responded to 257 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $350K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A+ Peak yr 2024 Alameda County 69,502 residents 0 reporting departments 1,172 5-yr
Total incidents
257
-4.8% vs 2024
Building fires
14
Residential 64% Other 36%
Property loss
$1.3M
$1.1M structure · $195K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 1
0 civilian deaths · 1 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 72% of all calls.

257
Total Incidents
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire 87 33.9%
Trash or rubbish fire, contained 46 17.9%
Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire 18 7.0%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 17 6.6%
Power line down 16 6.2%
All other categories 73 28.4%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Jun peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 26
Feb 11
Mar 12
Apr 16
May 23
Jun 37
Jul 37
Aug 20
Sep 33
Oct 17
Nov 9
Dec 16
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Union City

1,172 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $6.4M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 208 —
2022 225 +8.2%
2023 212 -5.8%
2024 270 +27.4%
2025 257 -4.8%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 14 building fires Union City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
52%
15
Cause undetermined
17%
5
Intentional / arson
14%
4
Equipment / heat source failure
3%
1
Under investigation
14%
4
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Union City?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 172 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 originCountShare 
1 Undetermined 46 26.7%
2 Cooking area, kitchen 20 11.6%
3 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 16 9.3%
4 Outside area, other 13 7.6%
5 Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. 8 4.7%
6 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 7 4.1%
7 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 5 2.9%
8 Other 4 2.3%
9 Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge 4 2.3%
10 Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola 4 2.3%
11 All other areas 45 26.2%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 Union City mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 82 47.7%
2 Heat source: other 17 9.9%
3 Heat from powered equipment, other 16 9.3%
4 Hot or smoldering object, other 16 9.3%
5 Arcing 8 4.7%
6 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 5 2.9%
7 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 5 2.9%
8 Heat from other open flame or smoking materials 5 2.9%
9 Heat from undetermined smoking material 5 2.9%
10 Fireworks 3 1.7%
11 All other sources 10 5.8%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $1.1M in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Union City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $350,000 Building fires Major Investigated
2 $300,000 Building fires Major Investigated
3 $170,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
4 $168,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
5 $30,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
6 $20,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
7 $15,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
8 $15,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
05 How Union City compares

Union City vs California vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Union City sits below the national average for incidents per resident.

3.7
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Union City
3.7
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.2
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Union City
0.2
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Union City
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Union City

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 654,045 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 396,624 27.6 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 86,509 26.2 mi
2007 Recreation and ceremony 47,760 39.4 mi
2006 Equipment and vehicle use 34,271 42.8 mi
2009 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 12,200 26.3 mi
2009 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 7,817 32.8 mi
2003 Equipment and vehicle use 6,804 35.5 mi
2005 Arson/incendiarism 6,744 22.4 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 5,513 48.7 mi
2003 Natural 5,018 34.6 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 4,474 35.9 mi
2020 Natural 4,279 39.6 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Union City do fires concentrate?

Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 94587 1,147
2 94544 14
3 94536 10
4 94552 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Union City

Six California cities with population within ±25% of Union City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.