In 2025, fire departments serving Bowdon responded to 116 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 56% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
539 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 97 | — | |
| 2022 | 95 | -2.1% | |
| 2023 | 127 | +33.7% | |
| 2024 | 104 | -18.1% | |
| 2025 | 116 | +11.5% |
For the 8 building fires Bowdon 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 | Undetermined | 46 | 35.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 5.4% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 6 | 4.6% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 28 | 21.5% |
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 Bowdon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 78 | 60.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 10 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 5.4% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 4.6% | |
| 5 | Lightning | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Radiated heat from another fire | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 8.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bowdon departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 89% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $32,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $26,141 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bowdon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 29,182 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 | 24.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,108 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 3,000 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,229 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,350 | 26.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,078 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 988 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 932 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 907 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 867 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 800 | 39.1 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Georgia cities with population within ±25% of Bowdon. 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.