In 2025, fire departments serving Maysville responded to 35 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $11K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 77% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
156 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $363K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33 | — | |
| 2022 | 24 | -27.3% | |
| 2023 | 28 | +16.7% | |
| 2024 | 36 | +28.6% | |
| 2025 | 35 | -2.8% |
For the 7 building fires Maysville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 59 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 | 14 | 23.7% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 23.7% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 15.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 10.2% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 10.2% |
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 Maysville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 39.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 15.3% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 10.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 5.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Maysville departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $11,220 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $9,176 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,300 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Maysville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 108,900 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 31,140 | 35.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 24,600 | 6.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 21,331 | 12.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,265 | 42.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,400 | 9.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 2,727 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 2,660 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,533 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,360 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,327 | 17.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 1,300 | 39.0 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28555 | 156 |
Six North Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Maysville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Maysville.
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.