In 2025, fire departments serving Clay responded to 12 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $16K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
36 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $36K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 5 | — | |
| 2022 | 8 | +60.0% | |
| 2023 | 6 | -25.0% | |
| 2024 | 5 | -16.7% | |
| 2025 | 12 | +140.0% |
For the 1 building fires Clay departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 15 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 3 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Interior stairway or ramp | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 1 | 6.7% |
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 Clay mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 53.3% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 8 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 6.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Clay departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $16,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $4,880 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Clay sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 31,591 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,108 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 2,950 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,784 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,229 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,800 | 39.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,540 | 15.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,308 | 25.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,100 | 20.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,078 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,066 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 988 | 45.5 mi |
Top 5 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 Clay. 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.