In 2025, fire departments serving White Castle responded to 35 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 80% of all calls.
May peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
132 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 28 | — | |
| 2022 | 16 | -42.9% | |
| 2023 | 18 | +12.5% | |
| 2024 | 35 | +94.4% | |
| 2025 | 35 | +0.0% |
For the 9 building fires White Castle departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 65 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 | 17 | 26.2% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 12.3% | |
| 4 | Other | 5 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - 5+ persons; including barrack/dormitory | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Closet | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Roof surface: exterior | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 16.9% |
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 White Castle mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 27.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 16 | 24.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 5 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 10.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by White Castle departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. White Castle sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,402 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 230 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 200 | 39.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 192 | 46.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 160 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 125 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 125 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 125 | 37.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 45.9 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 Louisiana cities with population within ±25% of White Castle. 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.