In 2025, fire departments serving Greenwood responded to 36 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 44% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
223 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $144K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 39 | — | |
| 2022 | 57 | +46.2% | |
| 2023 | 44 | -22.8% | |
| 2024 | 47 | +6.8% | |
| 2025 | 36 | -23.4% |
For the 3 building fires Greenwood departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 69 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 | 36 | 52.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Other | 7 | 10.1% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Closet | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 8.7% |
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 Greenwood mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 48 | 69.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 5 | 7.2% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Fireworks | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 4.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Greenwood departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Greenwood sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 56,452 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 | 41,050 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,378 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,036 | 25.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,465 | 13.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,048 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 902 | 33.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 850 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 669 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 557 | 10.0 mi | |
| 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 452 | 26.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 430 | 48.8 mi | |
| 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 429 | 26.0 mi |
Top 6 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Louisiana cities with population within ±25% of Greenwood. 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.