In 2025, fire departments serving North Topsail Beach responded to 17 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $12K 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 65% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
140 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $200K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 27 | — | |
| 2022 | 32 | +18.5% | |
| 2023 | 32 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 32 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 17 | -46.9% |
For the 3 building fires North Topsail Beach departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 34 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 14.7% | |
| 2 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 7 | Other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 9 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 8.8% |
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 North Topsail Beach mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 32.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 14.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by North Topsail Beach departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $12,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. North Topsail Beach sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 104,712 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 | 14.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 24,600 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 21,331 | 38.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,400 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 2,727 | 14.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 2,660 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,084 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,533 | 13.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,327 | 31.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 1,300 | 30.4 mi | |
| 1993 | Natural | 1,216 | 17.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,157 | 28.3 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 North Topsail Beach. 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.