In 2025, fire departments serving Nebo responded to 101 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 54% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
585 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $472K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 130 | — | |
| 2022 | 133 | +2.3% | |
| 2023 | 126 | -5.3% | |
| 2024 | 95 | -24.6% | |
| 2025 | 101 | +6.3% |
For the 18 building fires Nebo departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 205 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 | 75 | 36.6% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 48 | 23.4% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 12 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 10 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 10 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Other | 6 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 9.8% |
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 Nebo mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 131 | 63.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 10 | 4.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 9 | 4.4% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 7 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Match | 5 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 15 | 7.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Nebo departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Nebo sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 66,945 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,120 | 15.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,913 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,431 | 17.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 5,500 | 7.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 5,015 | 9.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,163 | 10.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 2,738 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,579 | 12.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 2,404 | 7.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 2,235 | 16.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,050 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Other causes | 2,005 | 11.1 mi |
Top 3 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 Nebo. 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.