In 2025, fire departments serving Adairsville responded to 134 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Jun peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
652 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $3.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 104 | — | |
| 2022 | 142 | +36.5% | |
| 2023 | 129 | -9.2% | |
| 2024 | 143 | +10.9% | |
| 2025 | 134 | -6.3% |
For the 6 building fires Adairsville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 240 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 | 86 | 35.8% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 33 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 22 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 14 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Equipment or service area, other | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 33 | 13.8% |
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 Adairsville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 154 | 64.2% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 18 | 7.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 9 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 5.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Adairsville departments in 2025. These 8 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 | $350,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $7,500 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Adairsville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 58,724 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Natural | 27,870 | 41.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,321 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 3,000 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2,836 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,083 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 1,448 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,350 | 41.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,281 | 30.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,010 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 965 | 31.2 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Georgia cities with population within ±25% of Adairsville. 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.