In 2025, fire departments serving Brownsville responded to 16 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 87% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
56 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $105K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 7 | — | |
| 2022 | 15 | +114.3% | |
| 2023 | 10 | -33.3% | |
| 2024 | 8 | -20.0% | |
| 2025 | 16 | +100.0% |
For the 8 building fires Brownsville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 10 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 | 10 | 100.0% |
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 Brownsville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 80.0% | |
| 2 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 10.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Brownsville departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Brownsville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,248 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,400 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,050 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 584 | 9.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 570 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 457 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 36.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 400 | 5.6 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42210 | 56 |
Six Kentucky cities with population within ±25% of Brownsville. 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.