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2025 County Report

Fires in Georgetown County, SC

In 2025, fire departments serving Georgetown County responded to 829 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $1.5M property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.

33,146 residents FIPS 45043 67 cities · 3 fire depts
Total incidents
829
3,759 across 5 years
Building fires
111
192 wildland
Property loss
$8.3M
$6.1M structure · $2.2M contents
Casualties
1 / 5
1 civ deaths · 4 civ inj · 1 FF inj
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Unauthorized burning lead by count. Top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.

829
Total Incidents
Unauthorized burning 131 15.8%
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire 118 14.2%
Building fires 111 13.4%
Passenger vehicle fire 63 7.6%
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire 45 5.4%
All other categories 361 43.5%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen in Georgetown County?

Mar peaks. Dec dips.

Jan 81
Feb 94
Mar 189
Apr 74
May 63
Jun 58
Jul 58
Aug 46
Sep 58
Oct 38
Nov 58
Dec 12
03 Five-year trend

Year over year in Georgetown County

3,759 incidents from 2021 through 2025.

YearIncidents 
2021 673
2022 801
2023 638
2024 818
2025 829
04 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 111 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.

Unintentional
42%
172
Cause undetermined
24%
99
Intentional / arson
9%
36
Equipment / heat source failure
6%
25
Under investigation
12%
49
Act of nature (lightning)
7%
7
05 The biggest fires

10 fires · $3.5M in losses

Largest single-incident property losses in Georgetown County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 58% of the county's total.

#Property lossCityTypeSeverity
1 $1,500,000 GEORGETOWN Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire Major
2 $301,000 GEORGETOWN Building fires Major
3 $300,000 GEORGETOWN Building fires Major
4 $300,000 GEORGETOWN Building fires Major
5 $250,000 GEORGETOWN Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence Major
6 $250,000 GEORGETOWN Road freight or transport vehicle fire Major
7 $200,000 GEORGETOWN Building fires Significant
8 $150,000 Georgetown Building fires Significant
9 $150,000 PAWLEYS ISLAND Building fires Significant
10 $120,000 GEORGETOWN Building fires Significant
06 How Georgetown County compares

Georgetown County vs SC vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.

25.01
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Georgetown County
25.01
SC avg
18.56
US avg
7.15
3.35
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Georgetown County
3.35
SC avg
2.67
US avg
0.82
30.2
Civilian fire deaths per million
Georgetown County
30.2
SC avg
23.4
US avg
5.8
07 Cities in this county

Largest cities in Georgetown County

12 cities mapped to FIPS 45043.

08 First responders

Busiest fire departments in Georgetown County

3 departments report from this county.

Georgetown County FD
—
FDID 22306 403 incidents 15 paid 170 vol
Georgetown City Fire Dept
Georgetown
FDID 22302 99 incidents 35 paid
Midway FD
—
FDID 22303 75 incidents
09 Historical wildfires

Largest fires recorded in SC

Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).

#NameYearAgencyAcres
1 Turn Table 2017 USFS 1,694
2 SCWAR-FY19-RX-Sandy Island 2019 2019 PRI 1,655
3 Memorial 2019 USFS 1,635
4 Cumbee 2018 USFS 1,629
5 Bullhead 2017 USFS 1,115
6 SCCRR-FY19-RX-0803 2019 FWS 1,038
7 Mill Mountain 2023 USFS 935
8 Keepers Branch 2018 USFS 766
9 SCCRR-FY19-RX-0704 2019 FWS 730
10 Calestown 2018 USFS 616

About this data

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.