In 2025, fire departments serving Mint Hill responded to 139 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 55% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
820 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.8M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 150 | — | |
| 2022 | 154 | +2.7% | |
| 2023 | 191 | +24.0% | |
| 2024 | 186 | -2.6% | |
| 2025 | 139 | -25.3% |
For the 13 building fires Mint Hill departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 277 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 | 77 | 27.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 27 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 25 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 23 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 19 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 8 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 7 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Other | 6 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 68 | 24.5% |
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 Mint Hill mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 134 | 48.4% | |
| 2 | Cigarette lighter | 20 | 7.2% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 17 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 15 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 10 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 8 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 7 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 42 | 15.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Mint Hill departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $9,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mint Hill sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,474 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Natural | 400 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 395 | 45.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 290 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 280 | 47.5 mi | |
| 1993 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 250 | 28.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 214 | 45.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 42.6 mi | |
| 1993 | Natural | 200 | 38.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 179 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 175 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 160 | 42.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 47.8 mi |
Top 5 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 Mint Hill. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Mint Hill.
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.