In 2025, fire departments serving Atlanta responded to 23 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 87% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
153 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $595K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52 | — | |
| 2022 | 49 | -5.8% | |
| 2023 | 21 | -57.1% | |
| 2024* | 8 | — | |
| 2025 | 23 | — |
* Well below Atlanta's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 8 building fires Atlanta departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 44 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 | 25 | 56.8% | |
| 2 | Other | 9 | 20.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 6 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Wall assembly | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 2.3% |
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 Atlanta mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 37 | 84.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 4 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 5 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 2.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Atlanta sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,859 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 375 | 34.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 11.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 51 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 8.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 40 | 37.2 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 Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Atlanta. 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.