In 2025, fire departments serving Gadsden responded to 24 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $120K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 75% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
134 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $370K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 29 | — | |
| 2022 | 26 | -10.3% | |
| 2023 | 21 | -19.2% | |
| 2024 | 34 | +61.9% | |
| 2025 | 24 | -29.4% |
For the 3 building fires Gadsden departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 98 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 | 28 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 18 | 18.4% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 15.3% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 13 | 13.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 9.2% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 6.1% |
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 Gadsden mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 62 | 63.3% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 8 | 8.2% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 5.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 5.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Gadsden departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $120,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $7,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Gadsden sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 16,453 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,684 | 17.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,484 | 12.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 985 | 16.6 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 650 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 549 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 525 | 43.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 510 | 44.6 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 38.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 400 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 382 | 39.0 mi |
Top 2 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 Gadsden. 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.