In 2025, fire departments serving Apison responded to 49 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
186 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $776K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 44 | +76.0% | |
| 2023 | 34 | -22.7% | |
| 2024 | 34 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 49 | +44.1% |
For the 2 building fires Apison departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 70 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 | Undetermined | 14 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 17.1% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 10 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 9 | 12.9% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 11.4% |
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 Apison mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 34.3% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 15.7% | |
| 3 | Radiated heat from another fire | 7 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 12.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Apison departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,500 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Apison sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 62,852 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Natural | 27,870 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2,836 | 33.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,480 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,083 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,080 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,035 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,018 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,747 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,600 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,560 | 40.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,281 | 14.1 mi |
Top 2 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 Apison. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.