In 2025, fire departments serving Ball Ground responded to 20 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. Ball Ground's departments reported 20 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 89 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
443 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $501K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 41 | — | |
| 2022 | 127 | — | |
| 2023 | 140 | +10.2% | |
| 2024 | 115 | -17.9% | |
| 2025* | 20 | — |
* Well below Ball Ground'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 0 building fires Ball Ground departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 59 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 | 22 | 37.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 20.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Construction/renovation area | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 11.9% |
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 Ball Ground mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 32 | 54.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.4% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ball Ground sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 45,935 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 | 39.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,048 | 32.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,040 | 35.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,281 | 49.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,010 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 965 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 915 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 885 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 802 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 780 | 6.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 680 | 24.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 622 | 44.6 mi |
Top 10 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 Ball Ground. 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.