In 2025, fire departments serving Waveland responded to 45 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.0M 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 76% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
340 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $5.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 66 | — | |
| 2022 | 60 | -9.1% | |
| 2023 | 92 | +53.3% | |
| 2024 | 77 | -16.3% | |
| 2025 | 45 | -41.6% |
For the 5 building fires Waveland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 80 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 | 49 | 61.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 8.8% |
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 Waveland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 66 | 82.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 7.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 6 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 8 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 1.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Waveland departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Waveland sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 36,894 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,708 | 10.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,000 | 17.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,500 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,135 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,922 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 1,824 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,698 | 16.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,600 | 5.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 1,507 | 8.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 1,500 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,485 | 10.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,400 | 39.3 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 | 39576 | 340 |
Six Mississippi cities with population within ±25% of Waveland. 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.