In 2025, fire departments serving Adams responded to 31 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
219 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.8M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 38 | — | |
| 2022 | 52 | +36.8% | |
| 2023 | 57 | +9.6% | |
| 2024 | 41 | -28.1% | |
| 2025 | 31 | -24.4% |
For the 2 building fires Adams departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 88 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 20.5% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 11 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 10 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 7 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 21.6% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Adams mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 35 | 39.8% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 13 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 9.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Adams departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Adams sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
6 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 1 | |
| 30-39 | 2 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 1 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 7,192 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 570 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 517 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 48.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 230 | 14.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 225 | 23.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 225 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 205 | 47.0 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Tennessee cities with population within ±25% of Adams. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Adams.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 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. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.