In 2025, fire departments serving Homeland responded to 10 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1 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 90% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
62 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1 cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 8 | — | |
| 2022 | 12 | +50.0% | |
| 2023 | 14 | +16.7% | |
| 2024 | 18 | +28.6% | |
| 2025 | 10 | -44.4% |
For the 3 building fires Homeland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 19 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 | 3 | 15.8% | |
| 2 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Wall assembly | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - 5+ persons; including barrack/dormitory | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 10 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 15.8% |
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 Homeland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 6 | 31.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 5 | 26.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 5.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Homeland departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Homeland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,272,252 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 309,200 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 191,474 | 15.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 152,515 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 124,110 | 20.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 123,014 | 32.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 69,060 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 68,361 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 34,936 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 34,660 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 28,985 | 25.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 20,100 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 19,198 | 37.9 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 | 31537 | 62 |
Six Georgia cities with population within ±25% of Homeland. 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.