In 2025, fire departments serving Central responded to 55 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $80K 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 62% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
255 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $425K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53 | — | |
| 2022 | 49 | -7.5% | |
| 2023 | 37 | -24.5% | |
| 2024 | 61 | +64.9% | |
| 2025 | 55 | -9.8% |
For the 10 building fires Central departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 88 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 | 29 | 33.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 16 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Other | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Swimming pool | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 12.5% |
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 Central mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 57 | 64.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 6.8% | |
| 3 | Match | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 5.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Central departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Central sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 44,943 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 24,725 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,623 | 21.5 mi | |
| 1993 | Natural | 1,050 | 25.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 889 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Recreation and ceremony | 570 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 500 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 468 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 440 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 407 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 392 | 43.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 353 | 47.5 mi |
Top 5 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 Central. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Central.
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.