In 2025, fire departments serving Belmont responded to 174 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $85K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 60% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,128 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $816K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 203 | — | |
| 2022 | 180 | -11.3% | |
| 2023 | 278 | +54.4% | |
| 2024 | 293 | +5.4% | |
| 2025 | 174 | -40.6% |
For the 23 building fires Belmont departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 251 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 | 55 | 21.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 30 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 22 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 15 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 14 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 12 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 10 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 8 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 65 | 25.9% |
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 Belmont mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 105 | 41.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 23 | 9.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 15 | 6.0% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 14 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 10 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 10 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 9 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 37 | 14.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Belmont departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $85,400 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $100 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Belmont sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,633 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,431 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 562 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 535 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 493 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 175 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 165 | 42.3 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 140 | 26.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Smoking | 136 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 130 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 125 | 40.5 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 North Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Belmont. 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.