In 2025, fire departments serving Olanta responded to 39 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $116K 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 69% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
269 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.7M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43 | — | |
| 2022 | 71 | +65.1% | |
| 2023 | 56 | -21.1% | |
| 2024 | 60 | +7.1% | |
| 2025 | 39 | -35.0% |
For the 12 building fires Olanta departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 160 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 60 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 27 | 16.9% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 19 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 7 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Other | 2 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 10.0% |
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 Olanta mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 80 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 16 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 7 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 7 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Conducted heat from another fire | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 10.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Olanta departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $116,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $8,000 | Cultivated vegetation, crop fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Olanta sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 24,309 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,684 | 32.8 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,150 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,922 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,695 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,600 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 985 | 44.2 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 950 | 36.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 862 | 25.0 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 47.0 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 730 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 617 | 47.8 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 South Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Olanta. 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.