In 2025, fire departments serving Center Point responded to 19 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. Center Point's departments reported 19 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 64 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 84% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
321 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $3.6M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 179 | — | |
| 2022 | 83 | -53.6% | |
| 2023* | 23 | — | |
| 2024* | 17 | — | |
| 2025* | 19 | — |
* Well below Center Point's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 6 building fires Center Point departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 145 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 | Other | 42 | 29.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 18 | 12.4% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 14 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 7.6% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 8 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 32 | 22.1% |
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 Center Point mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 62 | 42.8% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 40 | 27.6% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Fireworks | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 6.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Center Point departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Center Point sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 28,012 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 2,950 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,784 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,229 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,800 | 37.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,540 | 14.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,308 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,100 | 18.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,066 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 988 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 919 | 44.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 890 | 27.2 mi |
Top 7 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Alabama cities with population within ±25% of Center Point. 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.