In 2025, fire departments serving Palmetto responded to 37 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $120K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
308 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $422K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 82 | — | |
| 2022 | 72 | -12.2% | |
| 2023 | 62 | -13.9% | |
| 2024 | 55 | -11.3% | |
| 2025 | 37 | -32.7% |
For the 2 building fires Palmetto departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 50 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 | 10 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 9 | 18.0% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 16.0% |
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 Palmetto mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 46.0% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 8.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 18.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Palmetto departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $120,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $200 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100 | Outside gas or vapor combustion explosion | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Palmetto sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 12,406 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,321 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,350 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 625 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 519 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 464 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 416 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 405 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 356 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 356 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 348 | 49.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 347 | 29.9 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 Georgia cities with population within ±25% of Palmetto. 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.