In 2025, fire departments serving Chapel Hill responded to 53 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $130K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Aircraft standby lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 75% of all calls.
Sep peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
326 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.0M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53 | — | |
| 2022 | 66 | +24.5% | |
| 2023 | 82 | +24.2% | |
| 2024 | 72 | -12.2% | |
| 2025 | 53 | -26.4% |
For the 4 building fires Chapel Hill departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 102 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 25 | 24.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 11 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 6 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 15.7% |
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 Chapel Hill mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 34 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 14 | 13.7% | |
| 3 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 14 | 13.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 12 | 11.8% | |
| 5 | Radiated heat from another fire | 6 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 4 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 4.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Chapel Hill departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $130,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,500 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Chapel Hill sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,729 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 328 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 312 | 42.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 250 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 235 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 225 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 191 | 37.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 179 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 170 | 22.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 157 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 143 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 118 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 118 | 34.9 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 Tennessee cities with population within ±25% of Chapel Hill. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Chapel Hill.
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.