In 2025, fire departments serving Gibsonville responded to 93 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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.
Apr peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
497 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $929K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 138 | — | |
| 2022 | 138 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 64 | -53.6% | |
| 2024 | 64 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 93 | +45.3% |
For the 23 building fires Gibsonville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 53 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 22.6% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 17.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 11.3% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 4 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Interior stairway or ramp | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 22.6% |
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 Gibsonville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 35.8% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 4 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 13.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Gibsonville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Gibsonville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,660 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 500 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 456 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 363 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | 339 | 46.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 330 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 289 | 18.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 214 | 43.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 180 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 161 | 20.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 137 | 38.2 mi |
Top 4 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 Gibsonville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Gibsonville.
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.