In 2025, fire departments serving Butler responded to 21 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $3K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
130 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 38 | +52.0% | |
| 2023 | 27 | -28.9% | |
| 2024 | 19 | -29.6% | |
| 2025 | 21 | +10.5% |
For the 2 building fires Butler departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 39 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 | 13 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 15.4% |
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 Butler mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 48.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 10.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Butler departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,500 | Vehicle accident, general cleanup | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $300 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Butler sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,485 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 354 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 125 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Recreation and ceremony | 95 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 70 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 65 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 57 | 11.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 9.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 45 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 45 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 32.8 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 Kentucky cities with population within ±25% of Butler. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Butler.
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.