In 2025, fire departments serving Holden Beach responded to 16 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500 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 75% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
89 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $880K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | — | |
| 2022 | 12 | -20.0% | |
| 2023 | 18 | +50.0% | |
| 2024 | 28 | +55.6% | |
| 2025 | 16 | -42.9% |
For the 4 building fires Holden Beach departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 21 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 23.8% | |
| 2 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Assembly area - less than 100 persons | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 14.3% |
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 Holden Beach mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 42.9% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Pipe or cigar | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 4.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Holden Beach departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Holden Beach sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 40,340 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 19,130 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,084 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,911 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 1,648 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 1,577 | 9.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Fireworks | 1,155 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,154 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,100 | 42.6 mi | |
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 970 | 10.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 844 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 830 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 765 | 45.5 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28462 | 89 |
Six North Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Holden Beach. 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.