In 2025, fire departments serving Marbury responded to 17 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Forest, woods or wildland fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 82% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
82 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $102K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | — | |
| 2022 | 12 | +9.1% | |
| 2023 | 19 | +58.3% | |
| 2024 | 23 | +21.1% | |
| 2025 | 17 | -26.1% |
For the 2 building fires Marbury departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 21 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 | 9 | 42.9% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Function area, other | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Wall assembly | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 1 | 4.8% |
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 Marbury mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 52.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Candle | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 4.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Marbury departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Marbury sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 16,996 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,590 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,800 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,100 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,066 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,005 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 657 | 28.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 600 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 570 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 565 | 42.0 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 525 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 502 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 481 | 44.8 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 Alabama cities with population within ±25% of Marbury. 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.