ZIP 28480 recorded 28 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 155 across 2021–2025. Primary county: New Hanover County, NC. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
155 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | |
| 2022 | 41 | |
| 2023 | 26 | |
| 2024 | 35 | |
| 2025 | 28 |
Aug peaks. Feb dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 28480 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other | 35 | 22.6% | |
| 2 | Power line down | 24 | 15.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing, shorted electrical equipment | 17 | 11.0% | |
| 4 | Building fires | 13 | 8.4% | |
| 5 | Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) | 13 | 8.4% |
For the 7 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 28480 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outside area, other | 7 | 36.8% | |
| 2 | Other | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 2 | 10.5% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 31.6% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 2 | 10.5% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 28480 across 2021–2025. These 8 fires alone account for 294% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $125,000 | Water vehicle fire | 2024 | Significant |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | 2025 | Significant |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | 2025 | Significant |
| 4 | $2,500 | Building fires | 2023 | Significant |
| 5 | $1,500 | Outside equipment fire | 2025 | Significant |
| 6 | $500 | Building fires | 2022 | Significant |
| 7 | $500 | Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other | 2024 | Significant |
| 8 | $250 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | 2024 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 28480.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wrightsville Beach | 149 | |
| 2 | Wilmington | 1 |
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 — 155 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.