In 2025, fire departments serving Wallace responded to 47 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K 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 60% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
247 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $971K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33 | — | |
| 2022 | 74 | +124.2% | |
| 2023 | 42 | -43.2% | |
| 2024 | 51 | +21.4% | |
| 2025 | 47 | -7.8% |
For the 7 building fires Wallace departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 115 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 | 36 | 31.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 16 | 13.9% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 12 | 10.4% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 10 | 8.7% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Office | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 11.3% |
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 Wallace mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 69 | 60.0% | |
| 2 | Cigarette lighter | 8 | 7.0% | |
| 3 | Match | 7 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Arcing | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 7.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wallace departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $35,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wallace sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 15,163 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,358 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,181 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 969 | 26.4 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 950 | 28.3 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 14.2 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 730 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 697 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 669 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 586 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 547 | 25.0 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 541 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 528 | 49.2 mi |
Top 3 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 Wallace. 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.