In 2025, fire departments serving Jefferson County responded to 6,020 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $1.0M property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 45% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips.
23,196 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2,596 | |
| 2022 | 3,287 | |
| 2023 | 5,594 | |
| 2024 | 5,699 | |
| 2025 | 6,020 |
For the 845 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Jefferson County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 18% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Birmingham | Fires in structures other than in a building | Major |
| 2 | $1,000,000 | Birmingham | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major |
| 3 | $1,000,000 | IRONDALE | Building fires | Major |
| 4 | $900,000 | Bessemer | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Major |
| 5 | $850,000 | PINSON | Building fires | Major |
| 6 | $622,400 | VESTAVIA | Building fires | Major |
| 7 | $500,000 | Birmingham | Building fires | Major |
| 8 | $500,000 | Birmingham | Building fires | Major |
| 9 | $500,000 | Birmingham | Building fires | Major |
| 10 | $500,000 | Birmingham | Building fires | Major |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 01073.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | 200,431 | View › |
| Hoover | 91,995 | View › |
| Vestavia Hills | 38,600 | View › |
| Homewood | 27,557 | View › |
| Bessemer | 25,890 | View › |
| Trussville | 25,621 | View › |
| Mountain Brook | 22,259 | View › |
| Hueytown | 16,655 | View › |
| Center Point | 16,279 | View › |
| Gardendale | 16,051 | View › |
| McCalla | 14,509 | View › |
| Irondale | 13,455 | View › |
22 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.