In 2025, fire departments serving Clover responded to 304 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $312K 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 54% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,593 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $5.2M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 309 | — | |
| 2022 | 361 | +16.8% | |
| 2023 | 277 | -23.3% | |
| 2024 | 342 | +23.5% | |
| 2025 | 304 | -11.1% |
For the 59 building fires Clover departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 284 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 | 101 | 35.6% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 30 | 10.6% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 26 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 22 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 17 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 16 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Other | 7 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 5 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 50 | 17.6% |
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 Clover mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 153 | 53.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 19 | 6.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 18 | 6.3% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 4.6% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 6 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 4 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 39 | 13.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Clover departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 88% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $312,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $45,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Clover sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,796 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,431 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 562 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 535 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 493 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 175 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 165 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 147 | 47.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 141 | 41.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 140 | 15.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Smoking | 136 | 38.0 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 South Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Clover. 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.