In 2025, fire departments serving Ridge Spring responded to 11 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. Ridge Spring's departments reported 11 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 23 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 100% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
114 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $861K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 27 | — | |
| 2022 | 25 | -7.4% | |
| 2023 | 22 | -12.0% | |
| 2024 | 29 | +31.8% | |
| 2025* | 11 | — |
* Well below Ridge Spring's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 8 building fires Ridge Spring departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 35 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 | 14 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 11.4% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 2.9% |
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 Ridge Spring mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 60.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 4 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 2.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ridge Spring departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ridge Spring sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,069 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 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 950 | 25.5 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 650 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 310 | 20.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 30.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 290 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Smoking | 260 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 250 | 21.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 238 | 49.5 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 234 | 13.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 231 | 40.4 mi |
Top 2 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 Ridge Spring. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ridge Spring.
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.