In 2025, fire departments serving East Bend responded to 112 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K 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 72% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
543 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $990K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 77 | — | |
| 2022 | 92 | +19.5% | |
| 2023 | 114 | +23.9% | |
| 2024 | 148 | +29.8% | |
| 2025 | 112 | -24.3% |
For the 23 building fires East Bend departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 106 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 | 21 | 19.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 17 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 14.2% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 11.3% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Other | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 19.8% |
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 East Bend mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 21.7% | |
| 2 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 19 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 11 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 9 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 12.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by East Bend departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $67,198 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $37,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $26,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $873 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. East Bend sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,590 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Natural | 3,696 | 38.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 800 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 737 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 730 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 675 | 8.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 484 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 363 | 13.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 310 | 37.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 262 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 260 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 40.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 214 | 44.4 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six North Carolina cities with population within ±25% of East Bend. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in East Bend.
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.