In 2025, fire departments serving Waldo responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 72% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
131 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $81.2M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 29 | — | |
| 2022 | 35 | +20.7% | |
| 2023 | 22 | -37.1% | |
| 2024 | 27 | +22.7% | |
| 2025 | 18 | -33.3% |
For the 1 building fires Waldo departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 93 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 | 20 | 21.5% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 17 | 18.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 16.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Vacant structural area | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 11.8% |
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 Waldo mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 54 | 58.1% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 12 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Match | 9 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 2.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Waldo departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Waldo sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,702 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,299 | 38.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 929 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 905 | 15.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 852 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 727 | 14.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 537 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 506 | 12.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 490 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 486 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 475 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 376 | 34.7 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 71770 | 131 |
Six Arkansas cities with population within ±25% of Waldo. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Waldo.
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.