In 2025, fire departments serving Woodruff responded to 47 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 55% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
344 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $303K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 58 | — | |
| 2022 | 48 | -17.2% | |
| 2023 | 109 | +127.1% | |
| 2024 | 82 | -24.8% | |
| 2025 | 47 | -42.7% |
For the 12 building fires Woodruff departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 117 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 | 36 | 30.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 15 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Other | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 17.1% |
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 Woodruff mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 84 | 71.8% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 6.8% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 7.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Woodruff departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Woodruff sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 25,043 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,623 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,913 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,477 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 524 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 468 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 351 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 330 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 310 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 275 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 250 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 202 | 47.9 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29388 | 344 |
Six South Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Woodruff. 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.