In 2025, fire departments serving DeKalb County responded to 531 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $220K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 59% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips.
2,597 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 305 | |
| 2022 | 429 | |
| 2023 | 705 | |
| 2024 | 627 | |
| 2025 | 531 |
For the 130 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in DeKalb County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 72% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $220,000 | Rainsville | Building fires | Significant |
| 2 | $200,000 | Mentone | Building fires | Significant |
| 3 | $150,000 | Fort Payne | Building fires | Significant |
| 4 | $120,000 | FORT PAYNE | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $100,000 | FORT PAYNE | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $80,000 | Rainsville | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 7 | $65,000 | Fyffe | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $65,000 | Fyffe | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $50,000 | FORT PAYNE | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $50,000 | Sylvania | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 01049.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Payne | 14,815 | View › |
| Rainsville | 5,545 | View › |
| Henagar | 2,559 | View › |
| Crossville | 2,043 | View › |
| Collinsville | 2,036 | View › |
| Sylvania | 1,971 | View › |
| Fyffe | 1,232 | View › |
| Geraldine | 1,122 | View › |
| Powell | 989 | View › |
| Valley Head | 810 | View › |
| Pine Ridge | 635 | View › |
| Ider | 626 | View › |
6 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 | 426 B | 2019 | USFS | 2,671 |
| 2 | Lake Chinnabee | 2016 | USFS | 2,228 |
| 3 | 742 | 2019 | USFS | 1,787 |
| 4 | Rd07-09 | 2006 | NPS | 1,467 |
| 5 | Big Candle | 2019 | USFS | 1,272 |
| 6 | Half Way | 2016 | USFS | 1,066 |
| 7 | LRP NORTHEAST SOUTH RX | 2023 | NPS | 1,026 |
| 8 | Welcome Home 1 | 2016 | USFS | 1,008 |
| 9 | Road 09-08 WF | 2006 | NPS | 978 |
| 10 | Caney Head | 2016 | USFS | 932 |
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.