In 2025, fire departments serving Hoschton responded to 75 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K 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 57% of all calls.
Jan peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
432 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $3.2M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 62 | — | |
| 2022 | 94 | +51.6% | |
| 2023 | 80 | -14.9% | |
| 2024 | 121 | +51.2% | |
| 2025 | 75 | -38.0% |
For the 7 building fires Hoschton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 101 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 | 22 | 21.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 13.9% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 19.8% |
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 Hoschton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 45 | 44.6% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 7.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 7.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 6 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 13.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hoschton departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hoschton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 12,897 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,048 | 43.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,040 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 915 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 802 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 780 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 547 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 542 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 528 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 471 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 455 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 440 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 356 | 42.6 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 | 30548 | 432 |
Six Georgia cities with population within ±25% of Hoschton. 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.