In 2025, fire departments serving Ocean Isle Beach responded to 68 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K 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 47% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
490 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $376K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 116 | — | |
| 2022 | 132 | +13.8% | |
| 2023 | 103 | -22.0% | |
| 2024 | 71 | -31.1% | |
| 2025 | 68 | -4.2% |
For the 11 building fires Ocean Isle Beach departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 136 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 | 27 | 19.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 14 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 11 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Other | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 36 | 26.5% |
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 Ocean Isle Beach mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 68 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 15 | 11.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 15 | 11.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ocean Isle Beach departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $18,300 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $14,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $6,000 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,500 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ocean Isle Beach sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 38,265 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 19,130 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,911 | 19.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 1,648 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 1,577 | 15.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Fireworks | 1,155 | 28.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,154 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,100 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 1,089 | 46.5 mi | |
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 970 | 17.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 844 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 830 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 765 | 39.3 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 Ocean Isle Beach. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ocean Isle Beach.
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.