In 2025, fire departments serving Coats responded to 52 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $249K 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 69% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
339 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $733K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 60 | — | |
| 2022 | 73 | +21.7% | |
| 2023 | 92 | +26.0% | |
| 2024 | 62 | -32.6% | |
| 2025 | 52 | -16.1% |
For the 22 building fires Coats departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 159 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 | 45 | 28.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 36 | 22.6% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 25 | 15.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Other | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 10.7% |
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 Coats mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 79 | 49.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 21 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 8 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 10.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Coats departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $249,272 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $12,380 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Coats sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 14,550 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 5,438 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,164 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 750 | 22.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 550 | 21.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 500 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 28.8 mi | |
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 410 | 48.7 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 400 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 400 | 20.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 364 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | 339 | 22.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 330 | 46.4 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27521 | 338 |
Six North Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Coats. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Coats.
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.