In 2025, fire departments serving Nicholson responded to 37 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $450K 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 68% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
221 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40 | — | |
| 2022 | 40 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 63 | +57.5% | |
| 2024 | 41 | -34.9% | |
| 2025 | 37 | -9.8% |
For the 2 building fires Nicholson departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 55 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 29.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 9 | 16.4% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Other | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 14.5% |
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 Nicholson mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 20 | 36.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 14 | 25.5% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 5.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Nicholson departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $450,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,500 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Nicholson sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,567 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 915 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 889 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Recreation and ceremony | 570 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 547 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 528 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 471 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 356 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 350 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 325 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 301 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 34.5 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30565 | 221 |
Six Georgia cities with population within ±25% of Nicholson. 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.