In 2025, fire departments serving Burkesville responded to 87 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Aircraft standby lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 80% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
452 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $977K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 67 | — | |
| 2022 | 106 | +58.2% | |
| 2023 | 106 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 86 | -18.9% | |
| 2025 | 87 | +1.2% |
For the 1 building fires Burkesville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 121 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 | Wildland, woods | 22 | 18.2% | |
| 2 | Vehicle area, other | 19 | 15.7% | |
| 3 | Structural area, other | 17 | 14.0% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 12.4% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 9 | 7.4% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Multiple areas | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 15.7% |
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 Burkesville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 58 | 47.9% | |
| 2 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 14 | 11.6% | |
| 3 | Heat, spark from friction | 10 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 8.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Burkesville departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Burkesville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 31,721 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,646 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,398 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,925 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,214 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,079 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,952 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,536 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,088 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,000 | 16.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 960 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 940 | 20.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 845 | 8.3 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 | 42717 | 452 |
Six Kentucky cities with population within ±25% of Burkesville. 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.