In 2025, fire departments serving Atwood responded to 23 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $125K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
125 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $780K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | — | |
| 2022 | 36 | +140.0% | |
| 2023 | 32 | -11.1% | |
| 2024 | 19 | -40.6% | |
| 2025 | 23 | +21.1% |
For the 4 building fires Atwood departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 40 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Other | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 17.5% |
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 Atwood mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 32.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 6 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 7.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Atwood departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $125,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $125,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $125,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Atwood sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,440 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 500 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 34.4 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 331 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 330 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 316 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Smoking | 311 | 42.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 240 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 240 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 235 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 200 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 180 | 47.9 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 Atwood. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Atwood.
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.