In 2025, fire departments serving Fairview responded to 151 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K 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 62% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
678 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $715K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 132 | — | |
| 2022 | 147 | +11.4% | |
| 2023 | 154 | +4.8% | |
| 2024 | 94 | -39.0% | |
| 2025 | 151 | +60.6% |
For the 28 building fires Fairview departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 144 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 | 31 | 21.5% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 16 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 16 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 13 | 9.0% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Other | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 29 | 20.1% |
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 Fairview mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 49 | 34.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 15 | 10.4% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 14 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 13 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 11 | 7.6% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Match | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 11.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Fairview departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $6,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,500 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fairview sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,573 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 46.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 400 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 395 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 325 | 48.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 290 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 280 | 43.0 mi | |
| 1993 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 250 | 21.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 214 | 43.0 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 39.3 mi | |
| 1993 | Natural | 200 | 32.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 192 | 48.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 179 | 38.9 mi |
Top 5 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 Fairview. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Fairview.
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.