ZIP 28428 recorded 125 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 291 across 2021–2025. Primary county: New Hanover County, NC. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
291 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 16 | |
| 2022 | 30 | |
| 2023 | 13 | |
| 2024 | 107 | |
| 2025 | 125 |
Apr peaks. Dec dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 28428 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Building fires | 52 | 17.9% | |
| 2 | Power line down | 45 | 15.5% | |
| 3 | Prescribed fire | 44 | 15.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing, shorted electrical equipment | 26 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Authorized controlled burning | 26 | 8.9% |
For the 8 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 28428 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 7 | 29.2% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 45.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 5 | 20.8% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Candle | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 4.2% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 28428 across 2021–2025. These 5 fires alone account for 2130% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | 2024 | Significant |
| 2 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2025 | Significant |
| 3 | $1,000 | Fire, other | 2024 | Significant |
| 4 | $300 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2024 | Significant |
| 5 | $200 | Outside equipment fire | 2024 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 28428.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carolina Beach | 285 | |
| 2 | Wilmington | 2 |
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 — 291 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.