In 2025, fire departments serving Franklinton responded to 64 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $80K 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 56% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
377 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.3M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 83 | — | |
| 2022 | 100 | +20.5% | |
| 2023 | 65 | -35.0% | |
| 2024 | 65 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 64 | -1.5% |
For the 13 building fires Franklinton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 90 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 | 18 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 13 | 14.4% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 12.2% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 7.8% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 16.7% |
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 Franklinton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 46 | 51.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 9 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Match | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 8.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Franklinton departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Franklinton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,223 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,030 | 21.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,012 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,778 | 3.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 456 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | 339 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 289 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 274 | 5.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 257 | 4.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 254 | 1.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Natural | 240 | 45.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 230 | 30.3 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 Franklinton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Franklinton.
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.