In 2025, fire departments serving Effingham County responded to 389 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $250K property loss.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips.
1,755 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 233 | |
| 2022 | 349 | |
| 2023 | 394 | |
| 2024 | 390 | |
| 2025 | 389 |
For the 61 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Effingham County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 62% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Watson | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $200,000 | ALTAMONT | Building fires | Significant |
| 3 | $200,000 | MONTROSE | Building fires | Significant |
| 4 | $120,000 | ALTAMONT | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant |
| 5 | $120,000 | Mason | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant |
| 6 | $80,000 | Mason | Fire, other | Significant |
| 7 | $75,000 | ALTAMONT | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $75,000 | Effingham | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $65,000 | Effingham | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant |
| 10 | $60,000 | Effingham | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 17049.
9 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 | Red Shale RX | 2024 | FWS | 1,290 |
| 2 | Herrin Flats RX | 2024 | FWS | 1,134 |
| 3 | Beach RX | 2024 | FWS | 864 |
| 4 | Hampton North RX | 2024 | FWS | 708 |
| 5 | Hampton RX | 2024 | FWS | 668 |
| 6 | Grassy Creek 2 RX | 2024 | FWS | 621 |
| 7 | Chamness RX | 2024 | FWS | 610 |
| 8 | Greenbriar RX | 2024 | FWS | 590 |
| 9 | COR - Devils Kitchen West RX | 2024 | FWS | 468 |
| 10 | Smith RX | 2024 | FWS | 366 |
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.