In 2025, fire departments serving Chesterfield responded to 83 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 74% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
264 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $559K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 42 | — | |
| 2022 | 51 | +21.4% | |
| 2023 | 44 | -13.7% | |
| 2024 | 44 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 83 | +88.6% |
For the 24 building fires Chesterfield departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 65 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 | 20 | 30.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 10 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 16.9% |
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 Chesterfield mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hot ember or ash | 22 | 33.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 15 | 23.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 5 | Molten, hot material | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Lightning | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 10.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Chesterfield departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $4,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Chesterfield sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 14,964 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,358 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,181 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 969 | 36.2 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 950 | 22.5 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 8.7 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 730 | 21.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 697 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 669 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 586 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 547 | 35.4 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 541 | 48.6 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 47.9 mi |
Top 8 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 Chesterfield. 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.