In 2025, fire departments serving Clarkson responded to 10 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 100% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
48 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $300K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 3 | — | |
| 2022 | 6 | — | |
| 2023 | 22 | +266.7% | |
| 2024 | 7 | -68.2% | |
| 2025 | 10 | +42.9% |
* Well below Clarkson's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 2 building fires Clarkson departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 7 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 | Outside area, other | 2 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 2 | 28.6% | |
| 3 | Structural area, other | 1 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Wall assembly | 1 | 14.3% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 14.3% |
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 Clarkson mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 3 | 42.9% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 28.6% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 2 | 28.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Clarkson departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Clarkson sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,397 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,400 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,050 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 584 | 12.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 570 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 39.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 400 | 16.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 41.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 265 | 45.0 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 Kentucky cities with population within ±25% of Clarkson. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Clarkson.
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.