In 2025, fire departments serving Braselton responded to 103 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K 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 53% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
465 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.9M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 95 | — | |
| 2022 | 106 | +11.6% | |
| 2023 | 72 | -32.1% | |
| 2024 | 89 | +23.6% | |
| 2025 | 103 | +15.7% |
For the 6 building fires Braselton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 146 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 | 34 | 23.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 20 | 13.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 11 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 11 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 33 | 22.6% |
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 Braselton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 62 | 42.5% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 12 | 8.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 11 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 5.5% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 8 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 7 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 4.1% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 9.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Braselton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Unauthorized burning | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Braselton sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 13,269 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,048 | 41.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,040 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 915 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 802 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 780 | 39.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 622 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 547 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 542 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 528 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 471 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 455 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 440 | 38.7 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 Braselton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Braselton.
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.