In 2025, fire departments serving Hamilton responded to 12 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. Hamilton's departments reported 12 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 22 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
108 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $953K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 16 | — | |
| 2022 | 20 | +25.0% | |
| 2023 | 31 | +55.0% | |
| 2024 | 29 | -6.5% | |
| 2025* | 12 | — |
* Well below Hamilton's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 2 building fires Hamilton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 29 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 | 8 | 27.6% | |
| 2 | Other | 5 | 17.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 13.8% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 13.8% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Wall assembly | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 1 | 3.4% |
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 Hamilton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 51.7% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Match | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.4% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hamilton sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 7,521 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 522 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 480 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 465 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 375 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 356 | 25.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 348 | 25.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 341 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 305 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 267 | 44.3 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 Georgia cities with population within ±25% of Hamilton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Hamilton.
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.