In 2025, fire departments serving Temple responded to 151 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $240K 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 55% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
710 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $3.1M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 115 | — | |
| 2022 | 163 | +41.7% | |
| 2023 | 150 | -8.0% | |
| 2024 | 131 | -12.7% | |
| 2025 | 151 | +15.3% |
For the 14 building fires Temple departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 195 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 | 83 | 42.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 27 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Wall surface: exterior | 9 | 4.6% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 4.6% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 33 | 16.9% |
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 Temple mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 121 | 62.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 4.6% | |
| 3 | Radiated heat from another fire | 8 | 4.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 20 | 10.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Temple departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 93% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $240,465 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $109,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $106,456 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $99,456 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $45,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $30,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Temple sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 23,205 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,321 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 3,000 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,350 | 23.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,078 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 907 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 867 | 35.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 750 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 740 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 690 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 659 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 645 | 31.8 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Georgia cities with population within ±25% of Temple. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.