In 2025, fire departments serving Baconton responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Forest, woods or wildland fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 52% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
140 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $21K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 30 | — | |
| 2022 | 30 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 32 | +6.7% | |
| 2024 | 23 | -28.1% | |
| 2025 | 25 | +8.7% |
For the 1 building fires Baconton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 93 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 | 41 | 44.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 14 | 15.1% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 8.6% |
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 Baconton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 56 | 60.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 6 | 6.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 6 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 9.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Baconton departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Baconton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 7,622 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Natural | 702 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 563 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 542 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 421 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 412 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 395 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 311 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 290 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 290 | 24.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 264 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 262 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 260 | 47.7 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31716 | 140 |
Six Georgia cities with population within ±25% of Baconton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Baconton.
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.