ZIP 78521 recorded 238 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 366 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Cameron County, TX. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
366 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40 | |
| 2022 | 28 | |
| 2023 | 22 | |
| 2024 | 38 | |
| 2025 | 238 |
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 78521 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) | 41 | 11.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing, shorted electrical equipment | 38 | 10.4% | |
| 3 | Power line down | 36 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Grass fire | 34 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Building fires | 26 | 7.1% |
For the 11 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 78521 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outside area, other | 58 | 39.7% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 9.6% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 12 | 8.2% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 33 | 22.6% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 59 | 40.4% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 13 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Match | 10 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 31 | 21.2% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 78521 across 2021–2025. These 8 fires alone account for 110% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Building fires | 2025 | Major |
| 2 | $250,000 | Building fires | 2025 | Major |
| 3 | $200,000 | Building fires | 2024 | Significant |
| 4 | $200,000 | Building fires | 2025 | Significant |
| 5 | $180,000 | Building fires | 2025 | Significant |
| 6 | $150,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2025 | Significant |
| 7 | $100,000 | Building fires | 2022 | Significant |
| 8 | $100,000 | Building fires | 2024 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 78521.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brownsville | 226 | |
| 2 | Cameron Park | 1 | |
| 3 | Port Isabel | 1 |
The figures above are historical. For today's air quality, fire-weather warnings, and active fires, go to the official sources.
NFIRS reports each fire incident with a 5-digit address ZIP. We aggregate those rows directly to produce ZIP-level totals — 366 incidents in this ZIP across 2021–2025. Building-fire breakdowns (Area of Origin, Heat Source, ignition cause) only count fires investigators classified beyond the basic incident report. Because NFIRS reporting is voluntary, totals are a strong indicator rather than a complete census.