In 2025, fire departments serving Trussville responded to 188 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $280K 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 51% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
950 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 189 | — | |
| 2022 | 171 | -9.5% | |
| 2023 | 203 | +18.7% | |
| 2024 | 199 | -2.0% | |
| 2025 | 188 | -5.5% |
For the 13 building fires Trussville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 269 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 | 59 | 21.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 57 | 21.2% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 27 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 16 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 10 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 9 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 7 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 5 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 64 | 23.8% |
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 Trussville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 130 | 48.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 27 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 15 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 14 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 9 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 7 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 5 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 38 | 14.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Trussville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 88% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $280,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $55,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Trussville sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 31,591 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,108 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 2,950 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,784 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,229 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,800 | 36.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,540 | 10.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,308 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,100 | 17.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,078 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,066 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 988 | 42.3 mi |
Top 7 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Alabama cities with population within ±25% of Trussville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Trussville.
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.