In 2025, fire departments serving Wesley Chapel responded to 36 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $3K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
185 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 39 | — | |
| 2022 | 36 | -7.7% | |
| 2023 | 32 | -11.1% | |
| 2024 | 42 | +31.2% | |
| 2025 | 36 | -14.3% |
For the 1 building fires Wesley Chapel departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 38 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 | 9 | 23.7% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 4 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 10 | Other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 10.5% |
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 Wesley Chapel mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 21.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Chemical reaction | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 13.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wesley Chapel departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wesley Chapel sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,801 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 950 | 49.1 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 44.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 400 | 30.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 395 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 382 | 48.6 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 350 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 325 | 48.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 290 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 280 | 38.7 mi | |
| 1993 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 250 | 28.2 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 200 | 43.8 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 Wesley Chapel. 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.