In 2025, fire departments serving Eastover responded to 95 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $140K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Forest, woods or wildland fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
519 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.1M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 124 | — | |
| 2022 | 125 | +0.8% | |
| 2023 | 71 | -43.2% | |
| 2024 | 104 | +46.5% | |
| 2025 | 95 | -8.7% |
For the 13 building fires Eastover departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 369 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 | 113 | 30.6% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 71 | 19.2% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 55 | 14.9% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 42 | 11.4% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 13 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Other | 7 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 6 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 32 | 8.7% |
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 Eastover mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 222 | 60.2% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 26 | 7.0% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 17 | 4.6% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 17 | 4.6% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 16 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 11 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 8 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 7 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Match | 5 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 35 | 9.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Eastover departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 92% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $140,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $8,600 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $8,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Eastover sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 17,193 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,684 | 14.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,484 | 12.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 985 | 13.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 950 | 47.4 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 650 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 549 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 525 | 40.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 510 | 41.8 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 34.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 400 | 40.1 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 South Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Eastover. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Eastover.
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.