In 2025, fire departments serving Jefferson responded to 52 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $65K 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 73% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
286 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $672K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47 | — | |
| 2022 | 41 | -12.8% | |
| 2023 | 71 | +73.2% | |
| 2024 | 75 | +5.6% | |
| 2025 | 52 | -30.7% |
For the 13 building fires Jefferson departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 96 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 | 30 | 31.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 10.4% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Egress/exit, other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 20.8% |
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 Jefferson mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 55 | 57.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 7.3% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 6.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Jefferson departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $65,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Jefferson sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,957 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 985 | 43.0 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 950 | 19.5 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 18.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 730 | 22.3 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 44.6 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 420 | 40.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 400 | 17.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 395 | 10.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 382 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 378 | 27.4 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 350 | 25.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 325 | 23.5 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 South Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Jefferson. 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.