In 2025, fire departments serving Granite Falls responded to 163 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,001 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.5M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 173 | — | |
| 2022 | 232 | +34.1% | |
| 2023 | 228 | -1.7% | |
| 2024 | 205 | -10.1% | |
| 2025 | 163 | -20.5% |
For the 44 building fires Granite Falls departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 275 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 | 52 | 18.9% | |
| 2 | Other | 49 | 17.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 33 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 27 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 19 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 10 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 7 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 5 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 57 | 20.7% |
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 Granite Falls mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 101 | 36.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 38 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 21 | 7.6% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 20 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 16 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 15 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 15 | 5.5% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 10 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 7 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 24 | 8.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Granite Falls departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $4,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Granite Falls sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 54,650 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,120 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,431 | 17.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 5,500 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 5,015 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,163 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,579 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 2,404 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 2,235 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,050 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Other causes | 2,005 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1,760 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,727 | 48.1 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 Granite Falls. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Granite Falls.
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.