In 2025, fire departments serving Maiden responded to 129 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 44% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
737 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $517K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 133 | — | |
| 2022 | 148 | +11.3% | |
| 2023 | 180 | +21.6% | |
| 2024 | 147 | -18.3% | |
| 2025 | 129 | -12.2% |
For the 6 building fires Maiden departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 195 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 | 22.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 38 | 19.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 24 | 12.3% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 13 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 13 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Other | 8 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 35 | 17.9% |
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 Maiden mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 108 | 55.4% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 6.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 10 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 22 | 11.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Maiden departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $9,800 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,500 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,500 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Maiden sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 50,647 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 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,431 | 23.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 5,500 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 5,015 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,163 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,579 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 2,404 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 2,235 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Other causes | 2,005 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1,760 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,450 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 1,268 | 45.2 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 Maiden. 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.