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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Connelly Springs, North Carolina

In 2025, fire departments serving Connelly Springs responded to 78 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $58K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade D Peak yr 2024 Burke County 2,355 residents 2 reporting departments 503 5-yr
Total incidents
78
-41.8% vs 2024
Building fires
5
Residential 60% Other 40%
Property loss
$169K
$158K structure · $11K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 60% of all calls.

78
Total Incidents
Hazardous condition, other 13 16.7%
Authorized controlled burning 13 16.7%
Unauthorized burning 11 14.1%
Building fires 5 6.4%
Forest, woods or wildland fire 5 6.4%
All other categories 31 39.7%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 14
Feb 8
Mar 26
Apr 4
May 6
Jun 5
Jul 7
Aug 5
Sep 3
Oct 0
Nov 0
Dec 0
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Connelly Springs

503 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $557K cumulative property loss. 4 civilian deaths.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 101 —
2022 98 -3.0%
2023 92 -6.1%
2024 134 +45.7%
2025 78 -41.8%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 5 building fires Connelly Springs departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
44%
8
Cause undetermined
28%
5
Intentional / arson
0%
0
Equipment / heat source failure
11%
2
Under investigation
17%
3
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Connelly Springs?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 158 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 originCountShare 
1 Outside area, other 39 24.7%
2 Undetermined 30 19.0%
3 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 13 8.2%
4 Open area - outside; included are farmland, field 13 8.2%
5 Wildland, woods 9 5.7%
6 Highway, parking lot, street: on or near 8 5.1%
7 Wall surface: exterior 5 3.2%
8 Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. 5 3.2%
9 Other 4 2.5%
10 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 3 1.9%
11 All other areas 29 18.4%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 Connelly Springs mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 79 50.0%
2 Hot ember or ash 12 7.6%
3 Arcing 10 6.3%
4 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 9 5.7%
5 Heat spread from another fire, other 9 5.7%
6 Cigarette lighter 6 3.8%
7 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 5 3.2%
8 Heat from direct flame, convection currents 4 2.5%
9 Flying brand, ember, spark 4 2.5%
10 Heat source: other 3 1.9%
11 All other sources 17 10.8%
04 The biggest fires

7 fires · $158K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Connelly Springs departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $58,200 Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire Significant Investigated
2 $58,000 Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire Significant Investigated
3 $30,000 Road freight or transport vehicle fire Significant Investigated
4 $6,108 Building fires Significant Investigated
5 $5,000 Water vehicle fire Significant Investigated
6 $500 Building fires Significant Investigated
7 $200 Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire Significant Investigated
05 How Connelly Springs compares

Connelly Springs vs North Carolina vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Connelly Springs sits above the national average for incidents per resident.

33.12
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Connelly Springs
33.12
NC avg
9.36
US avg
7.48
2.12
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Connelly Springs
2.12
NC avg
1.35
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Connelly Springs
0
NC avg
8.6
US avg
5.9
5b Who gets hurt

Casualty demographics in Connelly Springs

7 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.

AgeCount 
0-9 0
10-19 0
20-29 0
30-39 0
40-49 2
50-59 1
60-69 0
70-79 2
80+ 2
Civilian vs firefighter
Civilian 6 FF 1
Gender
M 5 F 2 Unk 0
Severity (1=minor → 5=fatal)
1
1
0
2
1
3
0
4
4
5
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Connelly Springs

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 65,350 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2000 Recreation and ceremony 10,120 26.0 mi
2016 Arson/incendiarism 7,913 45.1 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 6,431 12.5 mi
2017 Natural 5,500 23.0 mi
2007 Natural 5,015 22.8 mi
2016 Arson/incendiarism 3,163 34.1 mi
2000 Debris and open burning 2,738 47.7 mi
2013 Recreation and ceremony 2,579 23.6 mi
2007 Misuse of fire by a minor 2,404 24.4 mi
2001 Debris and open burning 2,235 37.6 mi
2000 Arson/incendiarism 2,050 48.2 mi
2008 Other causes 2,005 25.5 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Connelly Springs do fires concentrate?

Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 28612 497
2 28690 4
3 28602 1
4 28618 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Connelly Springs

Six North Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Connelly Springs. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

06 First responders

Who responds in Connelly Springs?

2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Connelly Springs.

George Hildebran
7470 George Hildebran School RD
FDID 0127328 paid
SOUTH MOUNTAINS VFD
8204 GUS PEELER RD
FDID 01279Volunteer
07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.