In 2025, fire departments serving Atlantic Beach responded to 59 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $45K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 76% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
348 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $77K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 66 | — | |
| 2022 | 66 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 79 | +19.7% | |
| 2024 | 78 | -1.3% | |
| 2025 | 59 | -24.4% |
For the 22 building fires Atlantic Beach departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 60 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 | Outside area, other | 12 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 11.7% | |
| 3 | Other | 6 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 26.7% |
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 Atlantic Beach mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 23.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 11 | 18.3% | |
| 3 | Cigarette | 7 | 11.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 6 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 6.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Atlantic Beach departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $45,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Atlantic Beach sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 75,606 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 24,600 | 24.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 21,331 | 22.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,265 | 22.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,400 | 21.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 2,660 | 12.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 2,000 | 29.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,360 | 25.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,327 | 14.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,157 | 16.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,001 | 26.0 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 Atlantic Beach. 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.