In 2025, fire departments serving Union Springs responded to 27 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 81% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
199 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 27 | — | |
| 2022 | 51 | +88.9% | |
| 2023 | 38 | -25.5% | |
| 2024 | 56 | +47.4% | |
| 2025 | 27 | -51.8% |
For the 6 building fires Union Springs departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 151 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 37 | 24.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 27 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 23 | 15.2% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 14 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 14 | 9.3% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 10 | 6.6% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Other | 2 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 6.0% |
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 Union Springs mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 69 | 45.7% | |
| 2 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 29 | 19.2% | |
| 3 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 14 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 8 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 6 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 5.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Union Springs departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $550,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $7,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Union Springs sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,444 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,005 | 15.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 504 | 14.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 481 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 480 | 18.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 471 | 11.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 465 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 450 | 16.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 21.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 19.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 387 | 16.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 375 | 26.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 340 | 21.3 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 | 36089 | 199 |
Six Alabama cities with population within ±25% of Union Springs. 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.