In 2025, fire departments serving Calhoun Falls responded to 55 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Passenger vehicle fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
278 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 42 | — | |
| 2022 | 73 | +73.8% | |
| 2023 | 56 | -23.3% | |
| 2024 | 52 | -7.1% | |
| 2025 | 55 | +5.8% |
For the 4 building fires Calhoun Falls departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 80 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 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 9 | 11.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 9 | 11.2% | |
| 3 | Multiple areas | 9 | 11.2% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 7 | 8.8% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 7.5% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 7.5% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 4 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 20.0% |
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 Calhoun Falls mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 30 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 10 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Fireworks | 4 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 8.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Calhoun Falls departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Calhoun Falls sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,932 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 547 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 325 | 30.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 310 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 301 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 43.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 277 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 202 | 29.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 33.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 190 | 20.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 163 | 10.0 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 South Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Calhoun Falls. 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.