In 2025, fire departments serving Cherryville responded to 124 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 53% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
702 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $12.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 148 | — | |
| 2022 | 118 | -20.3% | |
| 2023 | 164 | +39.0% | |
| 2024 | 148 | -9.8% | |
| 2025 | 124 | -16.2% |
For the 24 building fires Cherryville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 220 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 | Outside area, other | 71 | 32.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 41 | 18.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 20 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 19 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 11 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Other | 8 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 8 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 29 | 13.2% |
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 Cherryville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 91 | 41.4% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 25 | 11.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 19 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 13 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 11 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 8 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 7 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 5 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 5 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 29 | 13.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cherryville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 91% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $3,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cherryville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 58,446 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,120 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,913 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,431 | 21.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 5,500 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 5,015 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,163 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,579 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 2,404 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 2,235 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Other causes | 2,005 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1,760 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,477 | 49.6 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 North Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Cherryville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Cherryville.
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.