In 2025, fire departments serving Hartsville responded to 33 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $70K 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 58% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
236 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 39 | — | |
| 2022 | 52 | +33.3% | |
| 2023 | 64 | +23.1% | |
| 2024 | 48 | -25.0% | |
| 2025 | 33 | -31.2% |
For the 5 building fires Hartsville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 110 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 | 20 | 18.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 16.4% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 13.6% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 8 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Other | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 27 | 24.5% |
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 Hartsville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 57 | 51.8% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 8 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 6.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hartsville departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $70,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hartsville sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,181 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 457 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 328 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 282 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 250 | 49.0 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 220 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 203 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 180 | 21.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 178 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 178 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 170 | 39.2 mi |
Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Tennessee cities with population within ±25% of Hartsville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Hartsville.
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.