In 2025, fire departments serving Erwin responded to 79 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 66% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
495 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 106 | — | |
| 2022 | 108 | +1.9% | |
| 2023 | 114 | +5.6% | |
| 2024 | 88 | -22.8% | |
| 2025 | 79 | -10.2% |
For the 24 building fires Erwin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 203 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 | 51 | 25.1% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 31 | 15.3% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 19 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 18 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 12 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Other | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 34 | 16.7% |
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 Erwin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 101 | 49.8% | |
| 2 | Cigarette lighter | 21 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 14 | 6.9% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 14 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 12 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 7.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Erwin departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Erwin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 15,817 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 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,164 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 795 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 750 | 19.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 716 | 48.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 550 | 15.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 26.7 mi | |
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 410 | 46.0 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 400 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 400 | 16.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 387 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 364 | 46.4 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 Erwin. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Erwin.
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.