In 2025, fire departments serving Villa Ridge responded to 44 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
239 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $733K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 37 | — | |
| 2022 | 57 | +54.1% | |
| 2023* | 22 | — | |
| 2024 | 79 | — | |
| 2025 | 44 | -44.3% |
* Well below Villa Ridge's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 8 building fires Villa Ridge departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 50 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 | 19 | 38.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 6 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Other | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 14.0% |
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 Villa Ridge mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 34 | 68.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 8.0% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 2.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Villa Ridge departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $65,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,500 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Villa Ridge sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,723 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 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,026 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 685 | 38.1 mi | |
| 1997 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 522 | 36.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 517 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 387 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 365 | 32.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 13.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 325 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 25.2 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 270 | 26.6 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 Missouri cities with population within ±25% of Villa Ridge. 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.