In 2025, fire departments serving Troutman responded to 99 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $140K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 44% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
722 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $487K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 141 | — | |
| 2022 | 151 | +7.1% | |
| 2023 | 154 | +2.0% | |
| 2024 | 177 | +14.9% | |
| 2025 | 99 | -44.1% |
For the 6 building fires Troutman departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 213 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 | 62 | 29.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 37 | 17.4% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 26 | 12.2% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 15 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 13 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 9 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Other | 5 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 26 | 12.2% |
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 Troutman mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 131 | 61.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 15 | 7.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 4.2% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 7 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 5 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 21 | 9.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Troutman departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $140,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,500 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Outside rubbish fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Troutman sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,374 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,431 | 42.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 800 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 562 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 535 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 310 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 260 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 43.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 214 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 175 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Smoking | 136 | 41.1 mi |
Top 2 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 Troutman. 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.