In 2025, fire departments serving Pacolet responded to 33 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
192 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $261K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33 | — | |
| 2022 | 31 | -6.1% | |
| 2023 | 54 | +74.2% | |
| 2024 | 41 | -24.1% | |
| 2025 | 33 | -19.5% |
For the 6 building fires Pacolet departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 74 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 | Undetermined | 20 | 27.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 19 | 25.7% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 12 | 16.2% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 4.1% |
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 Pacolet mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 57 | 77.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 4 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.4% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pacolet sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 23,700 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,913 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,431 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 2,235 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,477 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 562 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 535 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 524 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 493 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 351 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 330 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 48.6 mi |
Top 4 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 Pacolet. 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.