In 2025, fire departments serving Swansboro responded to 46 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Passenger vehicle fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 37% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
248 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $460K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59 | — | |
| 2022 | 56 | -5.1% | |
| 2023 | 31 | -44.6% | |
| 2024 | 56 | +80.6% | |
| 2025 | 46 | -17.9% |
For the 3 building fires Swansboro departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 69 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 | 20 | 29.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 10.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 10.1% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 7 | 10.1% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 18.8% |
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 Swansboro mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 37 | 53.6% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 8.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 7.2% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 8.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Swansboro departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,500 | Arcing, shorted electrical equipment | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Swansboro sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 109,854 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 31,140 | 32.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 24,600 | 13.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 21,331 | 17.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,265 | 41.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,400 | 10.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 2,727 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 2,660 | 11.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,533 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,360 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,327 | 9.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 1,300 | 42.6 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 Swansboro. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Swansboro.
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.