In 2025, fire departments serving Catlettsburg responded to 58 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 71% of all calls.
May peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
260 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $416K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 42 | — | |
| 2022 | 52 | +23.8% | |
| 2023 | 56 | +7.7% | |
| 2024 | 52 | -7.1% | |
| 2025 | 58 | +11.5% |
For the 24 building fires Catlettsburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 46 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 | 8 | 17.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 4 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Other | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 9 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 17.4% |
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 Catlettsburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 45.7% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Catlettsburg departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $58,200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $11,324 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Catlettsburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 40,882 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,328 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,865 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,250 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,200 | 39.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,090 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,934 | 34.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,769 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,739 | 37.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,678 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,640 | 38.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,624 | 41.7 mi |
Top 3 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 Catlettsburg. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Catlettsburg.
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.