In 2025, fire departments serving Vincent responded to 17 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $90K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Forest, woods or wildland fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 82% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
126 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $171K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40 | — | |
| 2022 | 21 | -47.5% | |
| 2023 | 24 | +14.3% | |
| 2024 | 24 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 17 | -29.2% |
For the 1 building fires Vincent departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 35 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 | 8 | 22.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 11.4% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 4 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 17.1% |
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 Vincent mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 54.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Match | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 2.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Vincent departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $90,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $4,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Vincent sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 28,696 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 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 2,950 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,229 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,800 | 20.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,540 | 9.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,308 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,100 | 9.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,078 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,066 | 22.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 988 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 932 | 32.7 mi |
Top 5 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 Vincent. 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.