In 2025, fire departments serving Westport responded to 71 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 85% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
424 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 95 | — | |
| 2022 | 86 | -9.5% | |
| 2023 | 98 | +14.0% | |
| 2024 | 74 | -24.5% | |
| 2025 | 71 | -4.1% |
For the 3 building fires Westport departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 131 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 | 34 | 26.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 19 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Other | 8 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Equipment or service area, other | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 36 | 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 Westport mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 65 | 49.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 9 | 6.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Fireworks | 8 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 12 | 9.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Westport departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $150 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Westport sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
6 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 2 | |
| 20-29 | 1 | |
| 30-39 | 0 | |
| 40-49 | 3 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,974 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 229 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 185 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 127 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 119 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Fireworks | 110 | 12.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 107 | 37.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Debris and open burning | 102 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 39.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Equipment and vehicle use | 98 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 85 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 82 | 44.7 mi | |
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 62 | 47.3 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 Washington cities with population within ±25% of Westport. 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.