In 2025, fire departments serving Hudson responded to 71 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
368 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $881K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 72 | — | |
| 2022 | 47 | -34.7% | |
| 2023 | 66 | +40.4% | |
| 2024 | 112 | +69.7% | |
| 2025 | 71 | -36.6% |
For the 7 building fires Hudson departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 87 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 | 17 | 19.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 13 | 14.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 12 | 13.8% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 19.5% |
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 Hudson mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 28 | 32.2% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 12 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 10 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 10.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hudson departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $18,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $6,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Gasoline or other flammable liquid spill | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hudson sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
5 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 1 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 0 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 2 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 1 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 64,753 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,120 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,913 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,431 | 18.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 5,500 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 5,015 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,163 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 2,738 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,579 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 2,404 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 2,235 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,050 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Other causes | 2,005 | 24.9 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six North Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Hudson. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Hudson.
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.