In 2025, fire departments serving Shelby County responded to 844 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $350K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips.
4,079 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 477 | |
| 2022 | 832 | |
| 2023 | 835 | |
| 2024 | 1,091 | |
| 2025 | 844 |
For the 79 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Shelby County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 64% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $350,000 | Helena | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $200,000 | Montevallo | Building fires | Significant |
| 3 | $200,000 | Alabaster | Building fires | Significant |
| 4 | $150,000 | Alabaster | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $138,000 | Alabaster | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $132,000 | Helena | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $110,000 | Montevallo | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $100,000 | Alabaster | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 9 | $100,000 | MAYLENE | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $90,000 | Vincent | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 01117.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Alabaster | 33,417 | View › |
| Pelham | 24,221 | View › |
| Helena | 21,036 | View › |
| Calera | 16,644 | View › |
| Chelsea | 15,201 | View › |
| Meadowbrook | 9,338 | View › |
| Brook Highland | 8,008 | View › |
| Montevallo | 7,288 | View › |
| Highland Lakes | 5,628 | View › |
| Columbiana | 4,552 | View › |
| Eagle Point | 2,746 | View › |
| Westover | 2,404 | View › |
7 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.