In 2025, fire departments serving Forest City responded to 160 fire and hazmat incidents . 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.
Mar peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
782 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $73K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 133 | — | |
| 2022 | 143 | +7.5% | |
| 2023 | 172 | +20.3% | |
| 2024 | 174 | +1.2% | |
| 2025 | 160 | -8.0% |
For the 33 building fires Forest City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 266 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 | 58 | 21.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 31 | 11.7% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 28 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 25 | 9.4% | |
| 5 | Other | 15 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 12 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 8 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 7 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 55 | 20.7% |
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 Forest City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 132 | 49.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 16 | 6.0% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 4.9% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 13 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 11 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 10 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 10 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 33 | 12.4% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Forest City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 59,277 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,120 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,913 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,431 | 23.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 5,500 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 5,015 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,163 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,579 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 2,404 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 2,235 | 18.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Other causes | 2,005 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1,760 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,477 | 22.3 mi |
Top 3 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 Forest City. 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.