In 2025, fire departments serving Prosperity responded to 130 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $225K 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 62% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
629 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $4.9M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 115 | — | |
| 2022 | 119 | +3.5% | |
| 2023 | 127 | +6.7% | |
| 2024 | 138 | +8.7% | |
| 2025 | 130 | -5.8% |
For the 26 building fires Prosperity departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 171 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 | 26 | 15.2% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 16 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 14 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 14 | 8.2% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 9 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 65 | 38.0% |
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 Prosperity mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 29 | 17.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 25 | 14.6% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 20 | 11.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 17 | 9.9% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 16 | 9.4% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 15 | 8.8% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 11 | 6.4% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 4.7% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 21 | 12.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Prosperity departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 90% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $225,400 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $90,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $35,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Prosperity sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,069 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,484 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 985 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 310 | 26.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 18.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 290 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 250 | 47.8 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 234 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 226 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 225 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 225 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 220 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 208 | 40.6 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 Prosperity. 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.