In 2025, fire departments serving Timmonsville responded to 110 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $350K 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 75% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
793 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $4.0M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 186 | — | |
| 2022 | 229 | +23.1% | |
| 2023 | 107 | -53.3% | |
| 2024 | 161 | +50.5% | |
| 2025 | 110 | -31.7% |
For the 31 building fires Timmonsville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 511 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 | 128 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 93 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 63 | 12.3% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 63 | 12.3% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 28 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 23 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 19 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 11 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 8 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 7 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 68 | 13.3% |
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 Timmonsville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 308 | 60.3% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 38 | 7.4% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 21 | 4.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 20 | 3.9% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 13 | 2.5% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 12 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 9 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 8 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 8 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 65 | 12.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Timmonsville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $350,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $46,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $33,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Timmonsville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 19,103 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,684 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,600 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 985 | 42.7 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 950 | 24.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 862 | 38.7 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 765 | 50.0 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 730 | 22.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 573 | 49.3 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 541 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 528 | 46.6 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 South Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Timmonsville. 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.