In 2025, fire departments serving Waco responded to 15 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $12K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
122 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $393K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 19 | — | |
| 2022 | 29 | +52.6% | |
| 2023 | 23 | -20.7% | |
| 2024 | 36 | +56.5% | |
| 2025 | 15 | -58.3% |
For the 1 building fires Waco departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 54 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 | 16 | 29.6% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 9 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 14.8% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Other | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 11.1% |
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 Waco mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 30 | 55.6% | |
| 2 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Match | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 11.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Waco departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $12,357 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Waco sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 30,299 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,321 | 17.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,108 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 3,000 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,229 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,636 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,350 | 17.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,078 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 988 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 932 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 907 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 867 | 26.4 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 Georgia cities with population within ±25% of Waco. 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.