In 2025, fire departments serving Hazel Green responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 57% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
121 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $40K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 23 | — | |
| 2022 | 23 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 28 | +21.7% | |
| 2024 | 19 | -32.1% | |
| 2025 | 28 | +47.4% |
For the 5 building fires Hazel Green departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 14 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 3 | 21.4% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 21.4% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 7.1% |
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 Hazel Green mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 57.1% | |
| 2 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 21.4% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Fireworks | 1 | 7.1% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hazel Green sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,763 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 | 1,163 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1,010 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 856 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 833 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 735 | 45.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 700 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 510 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 510 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 500 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 400 | 48.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 385 | 37.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 330 | 41.6 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 Alabama cities with population within ±25% of Hazel Green. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Hazel Green.
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.