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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Maxton, North Carolina

In 2025, fire departments serving Maxton responded to 67 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade D Peak yr 2021 Robeson County 2,300 residents 3 reporting departments 611 5-yr

Incomplete 2025 data. Maxton's departments reported 67 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 122 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.

Total incidents
67
Not comparable with 2024 (incomplete reporting)
Building fires
19
Residential 63% Other 37%
Property loss
$0
$0 structure · $0 contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.

67
Total Incidents
Building fires 19 28.4%
Grass fire 11 16.4%
Natural vegetation fire, other 10 14.9%
Fires in structures other than in a building 3 4.5%
Passenger vehicle fire 3 4.5%
All other categories 21 31.3%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 8
Feb 17
Mar 19
Apr 5
May 4
Jun 2
Jul 7
Aug 4
Sep 1
Oct 0
Nov 0
Dec 0
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Maxton

611 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $60K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 163 —
2022 157 -3.7%
2023 107 -31.8%
2024 117 +9.3%
2025* 67 —

* Well below Maxton'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.

03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 19 building fires Maxton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
50%
10
Cause undetermined
40%
8
Intentional / arson
0%
0
Equipment / heat source failure
0%
0
Under investigation
5%
1
Act of nature (lightning)
5%
1
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Maxton?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 230 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 originCountShare 
1 Undetermined 166 72.2%
2 Outside area, other 22 9.6%
3 Wildland, woods 10 4.3%
4 Open area - outside; included are farmland, field 9 3.9%
5 Function area, other 4 1.7%
6 Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room 4 1.7%
7 Cooking area, kitchen 3 1.3%
8 Vehicle area, other 3 1.3%
9 Other 2 0.9%
10 Highway, parking lot, street: on or near 2 0.9%
11 All other areas 5 2.2%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 Maxton mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 213 92.6%
2 Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions 5 2.2%
3 Hot ember or ash 4 1.7%
4 Flying brand, ember, spark 2 0.9%
5 Heat from powered equipment, other 1 0.4%
6 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 1 0.4%
7 Arcing 1 0.4%
8 Candle 1 0.4%
9 Heat spread from another fire, other 1 0.4%
10 Conducted heat from another fire 1 0.4%
05 How Maxton compares

Maxton vs North Carolina vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Maxton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.

29.13
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Maxton
29.13
NC avg
9.36
US avg
7.48
8.26
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Maxton
8.26
NC avg
1.35
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Maxton
0
NC avg
8.6
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Maxton

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 21,746 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2011 Natural 5,438 36.7 mi
2017 Equipment and vehicle use 1,358 18.1 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 1,181 17.8 mi
2011 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 1,164 33.9 mi
2016 Equipment and vehicle use 969 20.5 mi
1997 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 800 41.1 mi
2007 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 795 30.4 mi
2007 Arson/incendiarism 765 44.7 mi
2006 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 750 39.2 mi
1993 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 730 48.1 mi
2015 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 697 18.8 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 669 19.0 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Maxton do fires concentrate?

Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 28364 600
2 28372 5
3 28383 5
4 28373 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Maxton

Six North Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Maxton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

06 First responders

Who responds in Maxton?

3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Maxton.

EVANS CROSS ROADS FIRE DEPARTM
3440
FDID 0780610 paid · 22 volunteer
SMITHS FIRE DEPARTMENT
2906
FDID 078224 paid
PROSPECT FIRE DEPARTMENT
4345
FDID 07815Volunteer
07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.