In 2025, fire departments serving Church Hill responded to 71 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 44% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
514 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $5.0M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 66 | — | |
| 2022 | 143 | +116.7% | |
| 2023 | 99 | -30.8% | |
| 2024 | 135 | +36.4% | |
| 2025 | 71 | -47.4% |
For the 8 building fires Church Hill departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 107 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 | 14 | 13.1% | |
| 2 | Other | 12 | 11.2% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 10 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 9 | 8.4% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 33 | 30.8% |
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 Church Hill mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 20 | 18.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 10 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 8.4% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 8.4% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 8.4% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 9 | 8.4% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 8 | 7.5% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 6 | 5.6% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 18 | 16.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Church Hill departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Fire in mobile prop. used as a fixed struc., other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $800 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Church Hill sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 66,592 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 7,400 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,964 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,860 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,539 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,300 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,040 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,943 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,765 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 2,738 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,402 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,252 | 43.0 mi |
Top 6 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 Church Hill. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Church Hill.
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.