ZIP 27517 recorded 51 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 547 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Chatham County, NC.
547 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 119 | |
| 2022 | 74 | |
| 2023 | 153 | |
| 2024 | 150 | |
| 2025 | 51 |
Jan peaks. Oct dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 27517 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) | 113 | 20.7% | |
| 2 | Vehicle accident, general cleanup | 56 | 10.2% | |
| 3 | Power line down | 53 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Building fires | 49 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other | 42 | 7.7% |
For the 4 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 27517 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cooking area, kitchen | 17 | 17.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 15.5% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 15 | 15.5% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 11 | 11.3% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 7.2% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 22 | 22.7% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 47 | 48.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 9 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 7.2% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 9 | 9.3% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 27517 across 2021–2025. These 8 fires alone account for 182% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,217,300 | Building fires | 2025 | Major |
| 2 | $1,000,000 | Building fires | 2025 | Major |
| 3 | $400,000 | Building fires | 2023 | Major |
| 4 | $400,000 | Building fires | 2023 | Major |
| 5 | $400,000 | Building fires | 2023 | Major |
| 6 | $400,000 | Building fires | 2023 | Major |
| 7 | $125,000 | Building or structure weakened or collapsed | 2024 | Significant |
| 8 | $104,700 | Building fires | 2024 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 27517.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapel Hill | 528 | |
| 2 | Durham | 16 |
Some ZIPs span multiple counties. The primary above is the largest by population weight; secondary counties are below.
| County | State | Weight | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County | NC | 1.00 | FIPS 37135 |
| Durham County | NC | 0.50 | FIPS 37063 |
The figures above are historical. For today's air quality, fire-weather warnings, and active fires, go to the official sources.
NFIRS reports each fire incident with a 5-digit address ZIP. We aggregate those rows directly to produce ZIP-level totals — 547 incidents in this ZIP across 2021–2025. Building-fire breakdowns (Area of Origin, Heat Source, ignition cause) only count fires investigators classified beyond the basic incident report. Because NFIRS reporting is voluntary, totals are a strong indicator rather than a complete census.