In 2025, fire departments serving Jamestown responded to 46 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K 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 63% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
295 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $255K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46 | — | |
| 2022 | 75 | +63.0% | |
| 2023 | 59 | -21.3% | |
| 2024 | 69 | +16.9% | |
| 2025 | 46 | -33.3% |
For the 10 building fires Jamestown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 66 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 | 12 | 18.2% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 15.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 15.2% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 6 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 21.2% |
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 Jamestown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 29 | 43.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 10.6% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 7.6% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Match | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 9.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Jamestown departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $4,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Jamestown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,436 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 675 | 38.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 500 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 363 | 34.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 330 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 289 | 39.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 214 | 24.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 180 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 175 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 161 | 17.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 125 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 115 | 35.3 mi |
Top 4 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 Jamestown. 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.