In 2025, fire departments serving Piedmont responded to 112 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 51% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
783 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 105 | — | |
| 2022 | 201 | +91.4% | |
| 2023 | 210 | +4.5% | |
| 2024 | 155 | -26.2% | |
| 2025 | 112 | -27.7% |
For the 18 building fires Piedmont departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 351 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 | 150 | 42.7% | |
| 2 | Other | 34 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 33 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 32 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 23 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 18 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 6 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 32 | 9.1% |
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 Piedmont mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 236 | 67.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 25 | 7.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 21 | 6.0% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 2.6% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 8 | 2.3% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 1.7% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 1.7% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 6 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 25 | 7.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Piedmont departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Piedmont sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 33,120 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 | 11.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,108 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 3,000 | 6.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,229 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,636 | 20.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 1,448 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,350 | 13.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,078 | 18.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 988 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 932 | 38.9 mi |
Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Alabama cities with population within ±25% of Piedmont. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Piedmont.
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.