In 2025, fire departments serving Sylvan Springs responded to 16 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
May peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
68 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $85K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | — | |
| 2022 | 12 | +9.1% | |
| 2023 | 13 | +8.3% | |
| 2024 | 16 | +23.1% | |
| 2025 | 16 | +0.0% |
For the 3 building fires Sylvan Springs departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 19 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 | 5 | 26.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 21.1% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Wall assembly | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 10 | Roof surface: exterior | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 5.3% |
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 Sylvan Springs mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 47.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 5.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sylvan Springs departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sylvan Springs sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 25,231 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 2,950 | 8.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,784 | 18.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,925 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,800 | 39.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,540 | 30.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,308 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,262 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,100 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 919 | 45.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 890 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 721 | 45.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 700 | 6.0 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 35118 | 68 |
Six Alabama cities with population within ±25% of Sylvan Springs. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Sylvan Springs.
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.