In 2025, fire departments serving Boiling Spring Lakes responded to 82 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $450K 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 78% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
440 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 58 | — | |
| 2022 | 105 | +81.0% | |
| 2023 | 95 | -9.5% | |
| 2024 | 100 | +5.3% | |
| 2025 | 82 | -18.0% |
For the 17 building fires Boiling Spring Lakes departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 130 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 | 23 | 17.7% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 21 | 16.2% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 15 | 11.5% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 8.5% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 6.9% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Other | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 16.9% |
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 Boiling Spring Lakes mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 55 | 42.3% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 15 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 20 | 15.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Boiling Spring Lakes departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $450,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $12,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $6,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $4,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $3,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Boiling Spring Lakes sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 57,040 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 31,140 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 2,727 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,084 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,911 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 1,577 | 7.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,533 | 44.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 1,300 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1993 | Natural | 1,216 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,154 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1,126 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,100 | 26.7 mi | |
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 970 | 6.6 mi |
Top 3 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 Boiling Spring Lakes. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Boiling Spring Lakes.
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.