In 2025, fire departments serving Marshall responded to 81 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1K 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 57% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
145 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $18K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 30 | — | |
| 2022* | 12 | — | |
| 2023 | 19 | — | |
| 2024* | 3 | — | |
| 2025 | 81 | — |
* Well below Marshall's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 7 building fires Marshall departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 43 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 | Outside area, other | 6 | 14.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 14.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 6 | 14.0% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 11.6% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 9 | Interior stairway or ramp | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 23.3% |
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 Marshall mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 37.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 14.0% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 11.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Marshall departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Marshall sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 99,056 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 17,140 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,120 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,913 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,580 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,964 | 9.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 5,500 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 5,015 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,163 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,943 | 12.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 2,738 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,579 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2,436 | 27.7 mi |
Top 4 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 Marshall. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Marshall.
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.