In 2025, fire departments serving Selma responded to 213 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K 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 55% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,290 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.8M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 231 | — | |
| 2022 | 261 | +13.0% | |
| 2023 | 241 | -7.7% | |
| 2024 | 344 | +42.7% | |
| 2025 | 213 | -38.1% |
For the 43 building fires Selma departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 448 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 | 102 | 22.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 58 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 47 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 47 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 30 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 29 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 23 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 16 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 12 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 8 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 76 | 17.0% |
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 Selma mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 264 | 58.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 30 | 6.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 21 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 19 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 16 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 14 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 12 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 9 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 7 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 47 | 10.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Selma departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 90% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $80,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Selma sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
7 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 1 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 2 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,527 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,778 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 750 | 44.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 550 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 400 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | 339 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 300 | 26.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 274 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 260 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 257 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 254 | 40.8 mi |
Top 10 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 Selma. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Selma.
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.