In 2025, fire departments serving Rainbow City responded to 78 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 53% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
336 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $437K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44 | — | |
| 2022 | 61 | +38.6% | |
| 2023 | 81 | +32.8% | |
| 2024 | 72 | -11.1% | |
| 2025 | 78 | +8.3% |
For the 12 building fires Rainbow City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 184 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 | Outside area, other | 47 | 25.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 28 | 15.2% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 16 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 11 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Other | 9 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 36 | 19.6% |
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 Rainbow City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 92 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 12 | 6.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 5.4% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 8 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 23 | 12.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rainbow City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rainbow City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 34,778 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 | 38.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,108 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 3,000 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,229 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,636 | 23.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,540 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 1,448 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,350 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,100 | 46.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,078 | 23.3 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 Alabama cities with population within ±25% of Rainbow City. 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.