In 2025, fire departments serving Camden responded to 52 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 63% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
338 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $4.6M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 80 | — | |
| 2022 | 84 | +5.0% | |
| 2023 | 66 | -21.4% | |
| 2024 | 56 | -15.2% | |
| 2025 | 52 | -7.1% |
For the 14 building fires Camden departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 162 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 | 48 | 29.6% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 31 | 19.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 9.9% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 9 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 29 | 17.9% |
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 Camden mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 98 | 60.5% | |
| 2 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 9 | 5.6% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 8 | 4.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Incendiary device | 2 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 6.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Camden departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 90% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $120,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $45,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Camden sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 7,787 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,300 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 1,024 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 585 | 41.4 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 331 | 14.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 330 | 19.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 312 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Smoking | 311 | 30.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 15.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 264 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 240 | 20.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 240 | 35.3 mi |
Top 2 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 Camden. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Camden.
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.