In 2025, fire departments serving Fountain Inn responded to 259 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 39% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
901 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $3.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 179 | — | |
| 2022 | 120 | -33.0% | |
| 2023 | 171 | +42.5% | |
| 2024 | 172 | +0.6% | |
| 2025 | 259 | +50.6% |
For the 22 building fires Fountain Inn departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 407 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 | 107 | 26.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 96 | 23.6% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 30 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 24 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 20 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 20 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 19 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Other | 12 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 9 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 6 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 64 | 15.7% |
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 Fountain Inn mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 259 | 63.6% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 19 | 4.7% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 16 | 3.9% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 16 | 3.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 14 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 11 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Match | 9 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 7 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 40 | 9.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Fountain Inn departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 89% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $125,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $112,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $62,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $60,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fountain Inn sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 17,284 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 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,477 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 468 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 351 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 330 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 325 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 310 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 275 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 250 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 225 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 205 | 48.1 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 South Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Fountain Inn. 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.