In 2025, fire departments serving Chatham County responded to 184 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $75K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 53% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips.
7,598 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,747 | |
| 2022 | 1,500 | |
| 2023 | 2,025 | |
| 2024 | 2,142 | |
| 2025 | 184 |
For the 28 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Chatham County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 76% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Pooler | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 2 | $50,711 | Pooler | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant |
| 3 | $45,000 | Pooler | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant |
| 4 | $31,270 | Pooler | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $18,990 | Pooler | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $15,000 | BLOOMINGDALE | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $14,953 | Pooler | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 8 | $14,542 | Pooler | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 9 | $14,000 | Pooler | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant |
| 10 | $9,500 | Pooler | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 13051.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Savannah | 147,583 | View › |
| Pooler | 26,264 | View › |
| Wilmington Island | 15,235 | View › |
| Georgetown | 12,490 | View › |
| Port Wentworth | 11,103 | View › |
| Garden City | 10,352 | View › |
| Skidaway Island | 9,292 | View › |
| Whitemarsh Island | 6,790 | View › |
| Montgomery | 4,606 | View › |
| Tybee Island | 3,126 | View › |
| Henderson | 3,005 | View › |
| Bloomingdale | 2,933 | View › |
11 departments report from this county.
Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).
| # | Name | Year | Agency | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Mims | 2017 | FWS | 152,527 |
| 2 | GAOKR-FY19-RX-Blackjack Island | 2019 | FWS | 3,367 |
| 3 | South Cut | 2008 | NPS | 2,581 |
| 4 | St. Catherines Island | 2022 | USFS | 2,213 |
| 5 | GAOKR-FY19-RX-Strange Island | 2019 | FWS | 1,999 |
| 6 | GAPDR-FY19-RX-6C/7S/8A/8B | 2019 | FWS | 1,172 |
| 7 | Barrow's Fire | 2016 | PRI | 1,034 |
| 8 | GAOKR-FY19-RX-Mitchell Island | 2019 | FWS | 1,027 |
| 9 | The Nicki Fire | 2014 | FWS | 1,022 |
| 10 | GAPDR-FY19-RX-27A/Stephens | 2019 | FWS | 972 |
County-level NFIRS aggregates for 2025, plus 5-year totals across 2021–2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Wildfire risk score (0–100) and Expected Annual Loss come from FEMA's National Risk Index. Drought class is the most recent USDM classification (D0 = abnormally dry through D4 = exceptional drought). Historical fire perimeters are sourced from the NIFC InterAgency Fire Perimeter History.