In 2025, fire departments serving Barnwell responded to 57 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K 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 67% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
452 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.9M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 66 | — | |
| 2022 | 110 | +66.7% | |
| 2023 | 96 | -12.7% | |
| 2024 | 123 | +28.1% | |
| 2025 | 57 | -53.7% |
For the 10 building fires Barnwell departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 150 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 | 29 | 19.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 21 | 14.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 19 | 12.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 16 | 10.7% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Other | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 31 | 20.7% |
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 Barnwell mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 54 | 36.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 20 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 19 | 12.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 6 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 5 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 10.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Barnwell departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $100 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Barnwell sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,564 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 950 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 709 | 37.8 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 650 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 586 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 549 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 481 | 23.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 405 | 41.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 373 | 19.5 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 373 | 36.2 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 350 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 346 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 326 | 46.9 mi |
Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six South Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Barnwell. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Barnwell.
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.