In 2025, fire departments serving Brantley responded to 29 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Forest, woods or wildland fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
60 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $53K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 1 | — | |
| 2022* | 4 | — | |
| 2023* | 7 | — | |
| 2024 | 19 | — | |
| 2025 | 29 | +52.6% |
* Well below Brantley's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 4 building fires Brantley departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 29 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 | 10 | 34.5% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 13.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Other | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Incinerator area | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 10.3% |
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 Brantley mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 10 | 34.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 13.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Brantley departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $200 | Outside rubbish fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $150 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $40 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Brantley sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,800 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 745 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 678 | 17.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 589 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 566 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 565 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 478 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 471 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 447 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Fireworks | 438 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 412 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 408 | 43.8 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 Alabama cities with population within ±25% of Brantley. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Brantley.
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.