In 2025, fire departments serving Union County responded to 1,323 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $500K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Moderate.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips.
6,336 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,355 | |
| 2022 | 1,152 | |
| 2023 | 1,038 | |
| 2024 | 1,468 | |
| 2025 | 1,323 |
For the 163 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Union County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 73% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Marshville | Outside equipment fire | Major |
| 2 | $349,100 | STA | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $300,000 | IND | Building fires | Major |
| 4 | $300,000 | Weddington | Building fires | Major |
| 5 | $283,400 | STA | Building fires | Major |
| 6 | $250,000 | Waxhaw | Building fires | Major |
| 7 | $204,800 | MINERAL SPRINGS | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $200,000 | Weddington | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $150,000 | Monroe | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $133,899 | MONROE | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 37179.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Trail | 40,325 | View › |
| Monroe | 34,897 | View › |
| Waxhaw | 20,665 | View › |
| Stallings | 16,193 | View › |
| Weddington | 13,173 | View › |
| Wesley Chapel | 8,763 | View › |
| Unionville | 6,694 | View › |
| Marvin | 6,421 | View › |
| Wingate | 4,061 | View › |
| Fairview | 3,512 | View › |
| Lake Park | 3,342 | View › |
| Mineral Springs | 3,185 | View › |
5 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 | GREAT LAKES | 2023 | USFS | 32,155 |
| 2 | Whipping Creek Road | 2016 | PRI | 15,456 |
| 3 | COLLETT RIDGE | 2023 | USFS | 5,506 |
| 4 | St Mary's | 2008 | NPS | 4,565 |
| 5 | Carolina Bay | 2009 | USFS | 2,659 |
| 6 | Big Ditch | 2021 | FWS | 1,486 |
| 7 | HANCOCK CREEK | 2022 | USFS | 1,177 |
| 8 | BUCK MTN | 2002 | NPS | 1,124 |
| 9 | NCMCR-FY19-RX-1.1.2.b | 2019 | FWS | 1,080 |
| 10 | VAF220152 | 2022 | NPS | 1,079 |
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.