In 2025, fire departments serving Weddington responded to 69 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
328 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $3.7M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52 | — | |
| 2022 | 69 | +32.7% | |
| 2023 | 53 | -23.2% | |
| 2024 | 85 | +60.4% | |
| 2025 | 69 | -18.8% |
For the 5 building fires Weddington departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 76 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 | Outside area, other | 13 | 17.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 10 | 13.2% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 11.8% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 10 | Office | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 14.5% |
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 Weddington mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 7.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 6 | 7.9% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 21.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Weddington departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Weddington sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,488 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 48.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 400 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 395 | 40.5 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 350 | 49.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 290 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 280 | 41.7 mi | |
| 1993 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 250 | 30.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 200 | 45.7 mi | |
| 1993 | Natural | 200 | 44.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 179 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 175 | 34.8 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 Weddington. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Weddington.
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.