In 2025, fire departments serving Valley Park responded to 73 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1K 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 45% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
457 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $963K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 81 | — | |
| 2022 | 85 | +4.9% | |
| 2023 | 97 | +14.1% | |
| 2024 | 121 | +24.7% | |
| 2025 | 73 | -39.7% |
For the 3 building fires Valley Park departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 36 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 | 8 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 4 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Other | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 27.8% |
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 Valley Park mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 30.6% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 19.4% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 5.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Valley Park departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Valley Park sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 7,709 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,475 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,026 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 44.0 mi | |
| 1997 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 522 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 365 | 46.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 42.1 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 270 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 265 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 264 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 256 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 225 | 28.2 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 Missouri cities with population within ±25% of Valley Park. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Valley Park.
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.