In 2025, fire departments serving Wayne responded to 23 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $180K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Cooking fire, confined to container lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 57% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
124 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $854K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22 | — | |
| 2022 | 30 | +36.4% | |
| 2023 | 18 | -40.0% | |
| 2024 | 31 | +72.2% | |
| 2025 | 23 | -25.8% |
For the 0 building fires Wayne departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 30 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 | 7 | 23.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - 5+ persons; including barrack/dormitory | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Incinerator area | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 20.0% |
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 Wayne mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 13.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 4 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 9 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 23.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wayne departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $180,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $85,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $18,500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $6,500 | Vehicle accident, general cleanup | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $4,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $350 | Cultivated vegetation, crop fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $165 | Cultivated vegetation, crop fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wayne sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 12,415 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,200 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 1,100 | 42.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Smoking | 800 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 700 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Fireworks | 680 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 650 | 30.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 582 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 560 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 500 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 500 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 480 | 23.4 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 | 68787 | 124 |
Six Nebraska cities with population within ±25% of Wayne. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Wayne.
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.