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2025 County Report

Fires in Sedgwick County, KS

In 2025, fire departments serving Sedgwick County responded to 3,627 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $450K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.

493,220 residents FIPS 20173 60 cities · 9 fire depts
Total incidents
3,627
19,760 across 5 years
Building fires
421
449 wildland
Property loss
$6.7M
$5.8M structure · $907K contents
Casualties
1 / 32
1 civ deaths · 8 civ inj · 24 FF inj
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.

3,627
Total Incidents
Building fires 421 11.6%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 408 11.2%
Power line down 403 11.1%
Unauthorized burning 357 9.8%
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire 238 6.6%
All other categories 1,800 49.6%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen in Sedgwick County?

Mar peaks. Apr dips.

Jan 289
Feb 321
Mar 717
Apr 138
May 255
Jun 390
Jul 347
Aug 232
Sep 188
Oct 236
Nov 219
Dec 295
03 Five-year trend

Year over year in Sedgwick County

19,760 incidents from 2021 through 2025.

YearIncidents 
2021 2,751
2022 3,649
2023 3,407
2024 6,326
2025 3,627
04 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 421 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.

Unintentional
46%
405
Cause undetermined
25%
226
Intentional / arson
11%
102
Equipment / heat source failure
8%
74
Under investigation
4%
39
Act of nature (lightning)
6%
26
05 The biggest fires

10 fires · $2.2M in losses

Largest single-incident property losses in Sedgwick County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 38% of the county's total.

#Property lossCityTypeSeverity
1 $450,000 Wichita Building fires Major
2 $350,000 Wichita Building fires Major
3 $350,000 Wichita Building fires Major
4 $300,000 Wichita Road freight or transport vehicle fire Major
5 $150,000 Goddard Building fires Significant
6 $150,000 Mount Hope Building fires Significant
7 $135,000 Wichita Building fires Significant
8 $125,000 Valley Center Passenger vehicle fire Significant
9 $100,000 Wichita Building fires Significant
10 $100,000 Wichita Road freight or transport vehicle fire Significant
06 How Sedgwick County compares

Sedgwick County vs KS vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.

7.35
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Sedgwick County
7.35
KS avg
9.66
US avg
7.15
0.85
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Sedgwick County
0.85
KS avg
0.99
US avg
0.82
2
Civilian fire deaths per million
Sedgwick County
2
KS avg
8.5
US avg
5.8
07 Cities in this county

Largest cities in Sedgwick County

12 cities mapped to FIPS 20173.

08 First responders

Busiest fire departments in Sedgwick County

9 departments report from this county.

WICHITA FIRE DEPARTMENT
—
FDID SG111 2,243 incidents 357 paid
Sedgwick Co Fire Dist1
Wichita
FDID SG402 985 incidents 136 paid
Derby Fire Department
Derby
FDID SG202 165 incidents 1 paid 35 vol
Valley Center
VALLEY CENTER
FDID SG204 82 incidents 2 paid
Colwich Fire Dept
Colwich
FDID SG307 36 incidents 1 paid 15 vol
09 Historical wildfires

Largest fires recorded in KS

Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).

#NameYearAgencyAcres
1 ANNUAL BUR 1998 NPS 60,039
2 Tunner 2011 USFS 19,656
3 Boiling Springs 2021 PRI 4,571
4 BIG SALT MARSH 2010 FWS 3,697
5 Steeler 2006 USFS 2,380
6 Greenwood 2010 USFS 2,078
7 15 Two Section East Traps 2015 NPS 2,060
8 21 Big South 2021 NPS 1,954
9 Cottonwood 2018 FWS 1,508
10 East Kennedy Creek 2019 PRI 1,115

About this data

County-level NFIRS aggregates for 2025, plus 5-year totals across 2021–2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Wildfire risk score (0–100) and Expected Annual Loss come from FEMA's National Risk Index. Drought class is the most recent USDM classification (D0 = abnormally dry through D4 = exceptional drought). Historical fire perimeters are sourced from the NIFC InterAgency Fire Perimeter History.