In 2025, fire departments serving Cape Carteret responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $24K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Jan peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
96 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $245K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 16 | — | |
| 2022 | 17 | +6.2% | |
| 2023 | 24 | +41.2% | |
| 2024 | 14 | -41.7% | |
| 2025 | 25 | +78.6% |
For the 5 building fires Cape Carteret departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 33 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 | 11 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Other | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 12.1% |
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 Cape Carteret mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 42.4% | |
| 2 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Incendiary device | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 6.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cape Carteret departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $23,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cape Carteret sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 110,700 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 31,140 | 36.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 24,600 | 13.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 21,331 | 16.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,265 | 36.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,400 | 9.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 2,727 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 2,660 | 7.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 2,000 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,533 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,360 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,327 | 6.1 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 North Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Cape Carteret. 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.