In 2025, fire departments serving Fort Payne responded to 116 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 59% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
537 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $837K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 70 | — | |
| 2022 | 108 | +54.3% | |
| 2023 | 129 | +19.4% | |
| 2024 | 114 | -11.6% | |
| 2025 | 116 | +1.8% |
For the 23 building fires Fort Payne departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 346 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 | 63 | 18.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 56 | 16.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 47 | 13.6% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 23 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 20 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 19 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 17 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Other | 10 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 9 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 7 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 75 | 21.7% |
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 Fort Payne mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 198 | 57.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 20 | 5.8% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 16 | 4.6% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 14 | 4.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 13 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 11 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 8 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 7 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 37 | 10.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Fort Payne departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 86% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $120,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $45,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $35,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fort Payne sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 34,445 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,321 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 3,000 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2,836 | 21.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,083 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 5.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 16.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,636 | 20.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 1,448 | 6.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,350 | 42.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,281 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,167 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1,100 | 39.8 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 Alabama cities with population within ±25% of Fort Payne. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Fort Payne.
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.