In 2025, fire departments serving West Fork responded to 68 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K 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 54% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
290 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $42K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47 | — | |
| 2022 | 55 | +17.0% | |
| 2023 | 56 | +1.8% | |
| 2024 | 64 | +14.3% | |
| 2025 | 68 | +6.2% |
For the 9 building fires West Fork departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 176 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 | 69 | 39.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 54 | 30.7% | |
| 3 | Other | 12 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 1 | 0.6% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 0.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 4.5% |
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 West Fork mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 139 | 79.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 10 | 5.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 4.0% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 2.8% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 1.7% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 1.7% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 1.1% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 1.1% | |
| 9 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 2 | 1.1% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 1 | 0.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 1.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by West Fork departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. West Fork sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 48,724 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,050 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,800 | 11.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,285 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,240 | 28.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,770 | 28.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,310 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 2,135 | 26.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,108 | 23.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 2,085 | 24.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 39.2 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,920 | 31.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,900 | 46.1 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 West Fork. 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.