In 2025, fire departments serving New Ellenton responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 92% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
116 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $3K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 23 | — | |
| 2022 | 26 | +13.0% | |
| 2023 | 21 | -19.2% | |
| 2024 | 21 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 25 | +19.0% |
For the 16 building fires New Ellenton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 47 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 | 13 | 27.7% | |
| 2 | Other | 10 | 21.3% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 10.6% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 4 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Structural area, other | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Chute; laundry or mail, excluding trash chutes | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 12.8% |
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 New Ellenton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 23.4% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 10 | 21.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 17.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 10.6% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.1% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Ellenton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,098 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 950 | 4.7 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 650 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 586 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 481 | 26.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 373 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 346 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 310 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 15.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 290 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 285 | 23.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 263 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Smoking | 260 | 42.9 mi |
Top 2 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 New Ellenton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in New Ellenton.
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.