In 2025, fire departments serving Winnsboro responded to 165 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $40K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
758 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $659K cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 144 | — | |
| 2022 | 123 | -14.6% | |
| 2023 | 145 | +17.9% | |
| 2024 | 181 | +24.8% | |
| 2025 | 165 | -8.8% |
For the 15 building fires Winnsboro departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 403 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 | 78 | 19.4% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 54 | 13.4% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 52 | 12.9% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 46 | 11.4% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 42 | 10.4% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 32 | 7.9% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 13 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Other | 10 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 9 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 9 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 58 | 14.4% |
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 Winnsboro mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 195 | 48.4% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 37 | 9.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 27 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 20 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 15 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Radiated heat from another fire | 11 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 11 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 10 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 55 | 13.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Winnsboro departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 92% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $7,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Winnsboro sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,180 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,484 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 985 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 382 | 38.5 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 350 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 44.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 290 | 38.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 290 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 226 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 225 | 47.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 211 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 201 | 43.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 42.1 mi |
Top 5 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 Winnsboro. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Winnsboro.
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.