In 2025, fire departments serving Advance responded to 138 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
May peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
690 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $729K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 113 | — | |
| 2022 | 177 | +56.6% | |
| 2023 | 144 | -18.6% | |
| 2024 | 118 | -18.1% | |
| 2025 | 138 | +16.9% |
For the 18 building fires Advance departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 148 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 45 | 30.4% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 16 | 10.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 15 | 10.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 9 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Other | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 32 | 21.6% |
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 Advance mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 16.9% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 21 | 14.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 20 | 13.5% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Chemical reaction | 9 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 6 | 4.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 25 | 16.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Advance departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 85% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $8,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $7,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $6,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $4,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Advance sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,676 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 737 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 730 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 675 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 484 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 363 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 260 | 48.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 214 | 25.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 210 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 175 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 161 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 35.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 145 | 50.0 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 North Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Advance. 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.