In 2025, fire departments serving Holly Hill responded to 198 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 52% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
929 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $3.0M cumulative property loss. 4 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 173 | — | |
| 2022 | 127 | -26.6% | |
| 2023 | 164 | +29.1% | |
| 2024 | 267 | +62.8% | |
| 2025 | 198 | -25.8% |
For the 26 building fires Holly Hill departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 150 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 | 66 | 44.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 5 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 14.7% |
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 Holly Hill mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 103 | 68.7% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 5.3% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 4.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 6 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Molten, hot material | 6 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 1 | 0.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 2.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Holly Hill departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 93% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $80,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $52,700 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Holly Hill sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 26,766 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,684 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,933 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,922 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 1,834 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,695 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,630 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,600 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1,247 | 16.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,115 | 32.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 904 | 43.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 862 | 34.7 mi |
Top 10 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six South Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Holly Hill. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Holly Hill.
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.