In 2025, fire departments serving Evergreen responded to 31 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K 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 52% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
156 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $400K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45 | — | |
| 2022 | 22 | -51.1% | |
| 2023 | 33 | +50.0% | |
| 2024 | 25 | -24.2% | |
| 2025 | 31 | +24.0% |
For the 4 building fires Evergreen departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 21 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 19.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 19.0% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Function area, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Closet | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Undetermined | 1 | 4.8% |
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 Evergreen mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 57.1% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 4.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Evergreen departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Major | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Evergreen sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 20,876 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,926 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,332 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,176 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 8.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 991 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 800 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 745 | 13.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 45.4 mi | |
| 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | 680 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 678 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 600 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 589 | 44.9 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Alabama cities with population within ±25% of Evergreen. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Evergreen.
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.