In 2025, fire departments serving Laurel Park responded to 34 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 91% of all calls.
May peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
132 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 23 | — | |
| 2022 | 20 | -13.0% | |
| 2023 | 22 | +10.0% | |
| 2024 | 33 | +50.0% | |
| 2025 | 34 | +3.0% |
For the 1 building fires Laurel Park departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 5 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 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 60.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 1 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Construction/renovation area | 1 | 20.0% |
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 Laurel Park mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Lightning | 1 | 20.0% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 1 | 20.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Laurel Park sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 56,820 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,623 | 23.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,913 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,964 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 5,500 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,163 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,943 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 2,404 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,307 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 2,235 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1,760 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,477 | 14.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 1,268 | 43.6 mi |
Top 6 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 Laurel Park. 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.