In 2025, fire departments serving Black Mountain responded to 253 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 68% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,180 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.8M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 194 | — | |
| 2022 | 226 | +16.5% | |
| 2023 | 251 | +11.1% | |
| 2024 | 256 | +2.0% | |
| 2025 | 253 | -1.2% |
For the 79 building fires Black Mountain departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 102 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 16.7% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 14.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 11 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 8 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Entrance way, lobby | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 30 | 29.4% |
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 Black Mountain mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 51 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 17 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 9 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 4.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Black Mountain departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,500 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $50 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Black Mountain sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 88,134 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,623 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,120 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,913 | 13.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,431 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,964 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 5,500 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 5,015 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,163 | 14.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,943 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 2,738 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,579 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 2,404 | 26.7 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 Black Mountain. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Black Mountain.
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.