In 2025, fire departments serving Rutherfordton responded to 21 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. Rutherfordton's departments reported 21 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 62 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 86% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
311 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $349K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 9 | — | |
| 2022 | 121 | — | |
| 2023 | 116 | -4.1% | |
| 2024 | 44 | -62.1% | |
| 2025* | 21 | — |
* Well below Rutherfordton'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 10 building fires Rutherfordton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 34 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 | 7 | 20.6% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 6 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 17.6% |
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 Rutherfordton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 44.1% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 2.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rutherfordton departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rutherfordton sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 69,379 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,623 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,120 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,913 | 15.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,431 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 5,500 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 5,015 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,163 | 24.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,579 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 2,404 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 2,235 | 13.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Other causes | 2,005 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1,760 | 30.0 mi |
Top 6 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 Rutherfordton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Rutherfordton.
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.