In 2025, fire departments serving Washington responded to 168 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 52% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
857 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $6.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 169 | — | |
| 2022 | 139 | -17.8% | |
| 2023 | 190 | +36.7% | |
| 2024 | 191 | +0.5% | |
| 2025 | 168 | -12.0% |
For the 14 building fires Washington departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 324 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 46 | 14.2% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 42 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 35 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 26 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 20 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 19 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 14 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 12 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 12 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 9 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 89 | 27.5% |
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 Washington mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 108 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 24 | 7.4% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 22 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Fireworks | 20 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 15 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 15 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 14 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 12 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Match | 11 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 70 | 21.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Washington departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 94% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $140,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $110,000 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $80,000 | Vehicle accident, general cleanup | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Washington sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 813,009 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Natural | 238,058 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 65,480 | 24.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Recreation and ceremony | 50,737 | 19.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 44,707 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 41,451 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 38,628 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 35,639 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 34,200 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 29,933 | 16.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 28,177 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 21,105 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 18,235 | 28.5 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Utah cities with population within ±25% of Washington. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Washington.
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.