In 2025, fire departments serving Youngsville responded to 107 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Attempted burning, illegal action, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 43% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
530 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 69 | — | |
| 2022 | 100 | +44.9% | |
| 2023 | 130 | +30.0% | |
| 2024 | 124 | -4.6% | |
| 2025 | 107 | -13.7% |
For the 10 building fires Youngsville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 139 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 26 | 18.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 14.4% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 19 | 13.7% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 18 | 12.9% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 17 | 12.2% | |
| 6 | Exterior, exposed surface | 7 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Other | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 12.9% |
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 Youngsville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 70 | 50.4% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 20 | 14.4% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 6.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Youngsville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $70,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Youngsville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,371 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 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,012 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,778 | 9.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 456 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | 339 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 289 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 274 | 10.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 257 | 9.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 254 | 6.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 47.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Natural | 240 | 40.3 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 Youngsville. 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.