In 2025, fire departments serving Walnut Cove responded to 105 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K 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 62% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
752 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $896K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 168 | — | |
| 2022 | 166 | -1.2% | |
| 2023 | 159 | -4.2% | |
| 2024 | 154 | -3.1% | |
| 2025 | 105 | -31.8% |
For the 33 building fires Walnut Cove departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 104 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 | 33 | 31.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 10.6% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 5 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Other | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 24 | 23.1% |
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 Walnut Cove mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 43 | 41.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 12 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 6 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 7.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Walnut Cove departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $13,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $125 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Walnut Cove sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
9 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 1 | |
| 10-19 | 1 | |
| 20-29 | 3 | |
| 30-39 | 0 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,450 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Natural | 3,696 | 29.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 737 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 730 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 675 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 484 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 363 | 12.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 350 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 230 | 43.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 214 | 43.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 210 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 175 | 24.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 166 | 33.9 mi |
Top 4 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 Walnut Cove. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Walnut Cove.
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.