In 2025, fire departments serving Vinita Park responded to 34 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $17K 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 50% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
143 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $165K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22 | — | |
| 2022 | 29 | +31.8% | |
| 2023 | 26 | -10.3% | |
| 2024 | 32 | +23.1% | |
| 2025 | 34 | +6.2% |
For the 5 building fires Vinita Park departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 46 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 | 10 | 21.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 15.2% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 6 | 13.0% | |
| 4 | Other | 5 | 10.9% | |
| 5 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Shipping/receiving area; loading area, dock or bay | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 15.2% |
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 Vinita Park mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 32 | 69.6% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 7 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 2.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Vinita Park departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $17,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Vinita Park sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,639 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 | 23.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 41.7 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 270 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 225 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 150 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 23.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 56 | 38.7 mi |
Top 4 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 Vinita Park. 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.