In 2025, fire departments serving Four Oaks responded to 125 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $213K 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 69% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
969 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $785K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 206 | — | |
| 2022 | 289 | +40.3% | |
| 2023 | 150 | -48.1% | |
| 2024 | 199 | +32.7% | |
| 2025 | 125 | -37.2% |
For the 48 building fires Four Oaks departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 490 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 | 156 | 31.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 121 | 24.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 48 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 26 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Other | 25 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 20 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 17 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 12 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 12 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 6 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 47 | 9.6% |
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 Four Oaks mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 337 | 68.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 43 | 8.8% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 33 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 13 | 2.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 2.4% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 8 | 1.6% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 1.2% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 5 | 1.0% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 0.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 22 | 4.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Four Oaks departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $213,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Four Oaks sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 15,279 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 5,438 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,778 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,164 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 750 | 35.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 550 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 43.0 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 400 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 400 | 32.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | 339 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 300 | 27.6 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 32.8 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 North Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Four Oaks. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Four Oaks.
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.