In 2025, fire departments serving Boaz responded to 93 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 62% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
513 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.8M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 67 | — | |
| 2022 | 111 | +65.7% | |
| 2023 | 116 | +4.5% | |
| 2024 | 126 | +8.6% | |
| 2025 | 93 | -26.2% |
For the 16 building fires Boaz departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 348 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 | 93 | 26.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 68 | 19.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 34 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 23 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 21 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Other | 16 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 14 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 8 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 8 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 7 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 56 | 16.1% |
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 Boaz mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 197 | 56.6% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 31 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 20 | 5.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 14 | 4.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 12 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 8 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 7 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 6 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 37 | 10.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Boaz departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Boaz sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 30,131 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,321 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 3,000 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,636 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 1,448 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,350 | 48.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,078 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1,010 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 907 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 900 | 36.1 mi |
Top 6 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Alabama cities with population within ±25% of Boaz. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Boaz.
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.