In 2025, fire departments serving Brownsville responded to 94 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
678 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.3M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 163 | — | |
| 2022 | 123 | -24.5% | |
| 2023 | 185 | +50.4% | |
| 2024 | 113 | -38.9% | |
| 2025 | 94 | -16.8% |
For the 15 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 416 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 | 149 | 35.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 58 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 47 | 11.3% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 27 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 26 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 20 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 12 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 9 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Other | 8 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 8 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 52 | 12.5% |
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 Brownsville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 290 | 69.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 22 | 5.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 18 | 4.3% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 12 | 2.9% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 12 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 5 | 1.2% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 5 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 28 | 6.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Brownsville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 92% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $74,950 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $55,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $24,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Fire in mobile prop. used as a fixed struc., other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $7,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | 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. 6,366 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,007 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 529 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 316 | 23.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 269 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 250 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 235 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 216 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 206 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 203 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 182 | 26.9 mi |
Top 4 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 Brownsville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Brownsville.
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.