In 2025, fire departments serving Burns responded to 55 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
268 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53 | — | |
| 2022 | 41 | -22.6% | |
| 2023 | 61 | +48.8% | |
| 2024 | 58 | -4.9% | |
| 2025 | 55 | -5.2% |
For the 2 building fires Burns departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 51 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 23.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Other | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 21.6% |
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 Burns mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 8 | 15.7% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 9.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Burns departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,030 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $4,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,500 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Burns sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,872 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Natural | 585 | 43.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 516 | 48.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 331 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 330 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 312 | 25.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 264 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 240 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 240 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 235 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 225 | 17.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 218 | 41.7 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 Burns. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Burns.
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.