In 2025, fire departments serving Burlington responded to 104 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 56% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
358 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $365K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 75 | — | |
| 2022 | 61 | -18.7% | |
| 2023 | 50 | -18.0% | |
| 2024 | 68 | +36.0% | |
| 2025 | 104 | +52.9% |
For the 22 building fires Burlington departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 106 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 | Outside area, other | 28 | 26.4% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 13 | 12.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 8 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 18.9% |
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 Burlington mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 52 | 49.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 9 | 8.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 9 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 6 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Match | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 10.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Burlington 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 | $40,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Burlington sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,718 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 870 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 450 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 354 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 220 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 182 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 74 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 65 | 37.7 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 | 41005 | 358 |
Six Kentucky cities with population within ±25% of Burlington. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Burlington.
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.