In 2025, fire departments serving Wendell responded to 160 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 45% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,174 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 210 | — | |
| 2022 | 263 | +25.2% | |
| 2023 | 271 | +3.0% | |
| 2024 | 270 | -0.4% | |
| 2025 | 160 | -40.7% |
For the 24 building fires Wendell departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 489 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 | 124 | 25.4% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 66 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 55 | 11.2% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 40 | 8.2% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 37 | 7.6% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 35 | 7.2% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 26 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 12 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Other | 9 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 78 | 16.0% |
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 Wendell mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 103 | 21.1% | |
| 2 | Cigarette lighter | 53 | 10.8% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 42 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 42 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 37 | 7.6% | |
| 6 | Match | 34 | 7.0% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 33 | 6.7% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 19 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 17 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 13 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 96 | 19.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wendell departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 91% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $225,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $130,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $25,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wendell sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,458 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,030 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,012 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,778 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 456 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 400 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | 339 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 300 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 289 | 49.5 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 274 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 257 | 24.8 mi |
Top 6 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 Wendell. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Wendell.
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.