In 2025, fire departments serving Grifton responded to 90 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K 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 72% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
393 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $290K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 76 | — | |
| 2022 | 100 | +31.6% | |
| 2023 | 71 | -29.0% | |
| 2024 | 56 | -21.1% | |
| 2025 | 90 | +60.7% |
For the 27 building fires Grifton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 182 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 | 75 | 41.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 24 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 22 | 12.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 8 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 12.6% |
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 Grifton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 109 | 59.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 8 | 4.4% | |
| 3 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 8 | 4.4% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 7 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 6 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 19 | 10.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Grifton departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $7,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $4,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Grifton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 58,075 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 24,600 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 21,331 | 38.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,400 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,327 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 815 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 650 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 610 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 500 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 491 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 363 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 330 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 32.6 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 Grifton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Grifton.
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.