In 2025, fire departments serving Burnsville responded to 70 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Aircraft standby lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
388 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.0M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 89 | — | |
| 2022 | 71 | -20.2% | |
| 2023 | 49 | -31.0% | |
| 2024 | 109 | +122.4% | |
| 2025 | 70 | -35.8% |
For the 10 building fires Burnsville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 106 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 | 58 | 54.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 15 | 14.2% | |
| 3 | Other | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 7.5% |
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 Burnsville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 61 | 57.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 17 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 7 | Candle | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 3.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Burnsville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $130,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $19,999 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Burnsville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 79,197 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,120 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,913 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,431 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,964 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 5,500 | 23.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 5,015 | 23.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,163 | 18.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,943 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 2,738 | 9.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,579 | 23.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2,436 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 2,404 | 21.9 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 North Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Burnsville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Burnsville.
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.