In 2025, fire departments serving Heflin responded to 164 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 59% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
732 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $21K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 126 | — | |
| 2022 | 154 | +22.2% | |
| 2023 | 159 | +3.2% | |
| 2024 | 129 | -18.9% | |
| 2025 | 164 | +27.1% |
For the 5 building fires Heflin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 326 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 | 137 | 42.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 39 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 32 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 19 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 16 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 13 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Other | 11 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 5 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 38 | 11.7% |
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 Heflin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 225 | 69.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 14 | 4.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 14 | 4.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 10 | 3.1% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 2.1% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 6 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 26 | 8.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Heflin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 30,923 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,321 | 17.5 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,108 | 23.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 3,000 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 18.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,229 | 21.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,636 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,350 | 20.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,078 | 13.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,066 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 988 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 932 | 23.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 907 | 35.3 mi |
Top 3 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 Heflin. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Heflin.
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.