In 2025, fire departments serving Chatom responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 92% of all calls.
Jan peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
115 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $370K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 12 | — | |
| 2022* | 9 | — | |
| 2023 | 24 | — | |
| 2024 | 45 | +87.5% | |
| 2025 | 25 | -44.4% |
* Well below Chatom'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 9 building fires Chatom departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 24 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 | 8 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 4.2% |
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 Chatom mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 79.2% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 4.2% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Chatom sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 19,432 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,332 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,858 | 29.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 1,280 | 15.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 1,100 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 801 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 766 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 738 | 11.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 700 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 660 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 640 | 25.0 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 Alabama cities with population within ±25% of Chatom. 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.