In 2025, fire departments serving Newport responded to 198 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $154K 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 61% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
763 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 143 | — | |
| 2022 | 126 | -11.9% | |
| 2023 | 131 | +4.0% | |
| 2024 | 165 | +26.0% | |
| 2025 | 198 | +20.0% |
For the 47 building fires Newport departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 323 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 | 105 | 32.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 42 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 36 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 21 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Other | 18 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 18 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 6 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 53 | 16.4% |
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 Newport mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 146 | 45.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 27 | 8.4% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 26 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Match | 16 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 13 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 11 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 10 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 41 | 12.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Newport departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $153,593 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $88,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $34,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $17,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $7,500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Newport sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 107,433 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 | 47.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 24,600 | 15.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 21,331 | 13.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,265 | 25.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,400 | 12.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 2,660 | 4.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 2,000 | 34.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,533 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,360 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,327 | 6.2 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 Newport. 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.