In 2025, fire departments serving Helen responded to 21 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1 building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
174 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $200K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26 | — | |
| 2022 | 38 | +46.2% | |
| 2023 | 48 | +26.3% | |
| 2024 | 41 | -14.6% | |
| 2025 | 21 | -48.8% |
For the 1 building fires Helen departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 56 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 | 11 | 19.6% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 10.7% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 16.1% |
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 Helen mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 37 | 66.1% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Helen departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Helen sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 106,678 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Natural | 27,870 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 24,725 | 19.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 10,641 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 9,036 | 25.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,788 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,422 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,231 | 41.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,048 | 14.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,040 | 12.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 1,450 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 1,261 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 47.2 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 Georgia cities with population within ±25% of Helen. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.