In 2025, fire departments serving Charleston responded to 16 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $68K 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 94% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
105 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 22 | +4.8% | |
| 2023 | 26 | +18.2% | |
| 2024 | 20 | -23.1% | |
| 2025 | 16 | -20.0% |
For the 6 building fires Charleston departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 70 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 | 36 | 51.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - 5+ persons; including barrack/dormitory | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 7.1% |
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 Charleston mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 44 | 62.9% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 7.1% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 7.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Charleston departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $68,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $18,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Charleston sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,722 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,200 | 43.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 750 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 720 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 637 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 626 | 32.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 583 | 14.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 500 | 48.3 mi | |
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 485 | 10.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 400 | 36.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 400 | 16.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 360 | 26.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 340 | 37.9 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 38921 | 105 |
Six Mississippi cities with population within ±25% of Charleston. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Charleston.
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.