In 2025, fire departments serving Catawba responded to 58 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $85K 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 59% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
274 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $789K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35 | — | |
| 2022 | 52 | +48.6% | |
| 2023 | 67 | +28.8% | |
| 2024 | 62 | -7.5% | |
| 2025 | 58 | -6.5% |
For the 12 building fires Catawba departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 77 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 | 22 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 11 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Other | 8 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 7.8% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 13.0% |
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 Catawba mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 42 | 54.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 6.5% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Match | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 9.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Catawba departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $85,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $4,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,000 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Catawba sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,859 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Natural | 400 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 395 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 382 | 45.1 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 350 | 40.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 290 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 280 | 42.3 mi | |
| 1993 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 250 | 42.0 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 200 | 36.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 179 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 175 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 160 | 39.1 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 South Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Catawba. 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.