In 2025, fire departments serving McBee responded to 36 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $45K 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 53% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
248 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $451K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45 | — | |
| 2022 | 83 | +84.4% | |
| 2023 | 44 | -47.0% | |
| 2024 | 40 | -9.1% | |
| 2025 | 36 | -10.0% |
For the 4 building fires McBee departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 91 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 | 33 | 36.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 12.1% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 6 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 12.1% |
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 McBee mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 55 | 60.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 11.0% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 7 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Radiated heat from another fire | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 4.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by McBee departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $45,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $35,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $35,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,500 | Arcing, shorted electrical equipment | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. McBee sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 16,650 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,684 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,484 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 985 | 36.2 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 950 | 5.1 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 14.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 730 | 9.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 48.3 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 438 | 49.7 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 420 | 38.4 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 404 | 38.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 400 | 26.8 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 South Carolina cities with population within ±25% of McBee. 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.