In 2025, fire departments serving Roxboro responded to 194 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $876K 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 44% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,531 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $5.1M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 316 | — | |
| 2022 | 343 | +8.5% | |
| 2023 | 372 | +8.5% | |
| 2024 | 306 | -17.7% | |
| 2025 | 194 | -36.6% |
For the 27 building fires Roxboro departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 471 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 | 78 | 16.6% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 62 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 56 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 47 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 41 | 8.7% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 34 | 7.2% | |
| 7 | Other | 19 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 11 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 10 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 10 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 103 | 21.9% |
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 Roxboro mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 196 | 41.6% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 37 | 7.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 29 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 25 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 24 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 21 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 18 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 16 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 15 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Match | 14 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 76 | 16.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Roxboro departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 92% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $876,220 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $390,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $83,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $65,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $65,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Roxboro sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 7,187 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,030 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,778 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 456 | 13.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 289 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 274 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 257 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 254 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 216 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 170 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 137 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 120 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 115 | 8.0 mi |
Top 7 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six North Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Roxboro. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Roxboro.
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.