In 2025, fire departments serving Fletcher responded to 237 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
917 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $219K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 176 | — | |
| 2022 | 187 | +6.2% | |
| 2023 | 119 | -36.4% | |
| 2024 | 198 | +66.4% | |
| 2025 | 237 | +19.7% |
For the 18 building fires Fletcher departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 142 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 | 30 | 21.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 9.9% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 12 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 9 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 9 | 6.3% | |
| 7 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Other | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 31 | 21.8% |
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 Fletcher mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 47 | 33.1% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 14 | 9.9% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 12 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 28 | 19.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Fletcher departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Fuel burner/boiler malfunction, fire confined | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fletcher sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 83,313 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,623 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,120 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,913 | 16.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,964 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 5,500 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 5,015 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,163 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,943 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 2,738 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,579 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2,436 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 2,404 | 42.2 mi |
Top 10 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 Fletcher. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Fletcher.
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.