In 2025, fire departments serving Gray Court responded to 165 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
617 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 126 | — | |
| 2022 | 89 | -29.4% | |
| 2023 | 114 | +28.1% | |
| 2024 | 123 | +7.9% | |
| 2025 | 165 | +34.1% |
For the 25 building fires Gray Court departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 320 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 | 150 | 46.9% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 49 | 15.3% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 16 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 12 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Other | 9 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 8 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 6 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 40 | 12.5% |
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 Gray Court mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 262 | 81.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 16 | 5.0% | |
| 3 | Match | 8 | 2.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 1.9% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 1.6% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 1.6% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 0.9% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 0.9% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 2 | 0.6% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 0.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 2.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Gray Court departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 94% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $65,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Gray Court sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 15,046 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,623 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 351 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 325 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 310 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 275 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 250 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 202 | 40.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 38.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 190 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 165 | 37.9 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 Gray Court. 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.