In 2025, fire departments serving Lanett responded to 161 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 58% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
642 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $92K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 91 | — | |
| 2022 | 129 | +41.8% | |
| 2023 | 132 | +2.3% | |
| 2024 | 129 | -2.3% | |
| 2025 | 161 | +24.8% |
For the 36 building fires Lanett departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 191 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 | 43 | 22.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 32 | 16.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 20 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 10 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Other | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Entrance way, lobby | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 49 | 25.7% |
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 Lanett mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 96 | 50.3% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 27 | 14.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 15 | 7.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 7.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lanett departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $100 | Outside rubbish fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lanett sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,091 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 522 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 504 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 481 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 480 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 465 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 450 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 39.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 45.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 400 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 375 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 356 | 43.8 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Alabama cities with population within ±25% of Lanett. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lanett.
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.