In 2025, fire departments serving Waldron responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 68% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
200 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.4M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43 | — | |
| 2022 | 56 | +30.2% | |
| 2023 | 44 | -21.4% | |
| 2024 | 29 | -34.1% | |
| 2025 | 28 | -3.4% |
For the 6 building fires Waldron departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 140 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 | Outside area, other | 30 | 21.4% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 22 | 15.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 22 | 15.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 12.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Other | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 13.6% |
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 Waldron mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 86 | 61.4% | |
| 2 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 9 | 6.4% | |
| 3 | Cigarette | 7 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 10.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Waldron departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $8,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $8,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $3,000 | Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Waldron sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 48,591 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Natural | 8,294 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 4,000 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 3,739 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,700 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,400 | 37.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,900 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,800 | 23.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,800 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,626 | 19.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,550 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 1,535 | 41.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,530 | 43.1 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 Arkansas cities with population within ±25% of Waldron. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Waldron.
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.