In 2025, fire departments serving Folly Beach responded to 47 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $4.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 68% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
218 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $4.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35 | — | |
| 2022 | 47 | +34.3% | |
| 2023 | 45 | -4.3% | |
| 2024 | 44 | -2.2% | |
| 2025 | 47 | +6.8% |
For the 2 building fires Folly Beach departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 57 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 | 12 | 21.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 7 | 12.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Other | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 26.3% |
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 Folly Beach mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 45.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 12.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 7.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Folly Beach departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $500 | Self-propelled motor home or recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $200 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $200 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15 | Outside rubbish fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Folly Beach sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 26,330 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 | 2,765 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,466 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,933 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,922 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 1,834 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,695 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,630 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,600 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1,247 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,115 | 36.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 904 | 20.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 767 | 43.6 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 South Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Folly Beach. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.