In 2025, fire departments serving Cosby responded to 84 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.
Aug peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
347 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $3.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 65 | — | |
| 2022 | 95 | +46.2% | |
| 2023 | 59 | -37.9% | |
| 2024 | 44 | -25.4% | |
| 2025 | 84 | +90.9% |
For the 28 building fires Cosby departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 105 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 | 44 | 41.9% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 9 | 8.6% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 7.6% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Other | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Interior stairway or ramp | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 21.0% |
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 Cosby mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 79 | 75.2% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 7.6% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 10 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 1.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cosby departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 94% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $70,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $60,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $38,100 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $30,000 | Construction or demolition landfill fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cosby sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 87,067 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 17,140 | 17.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 10,641 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,788 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,580 | 23.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,964 | 25.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,422 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,231 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,200 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,943 | 23.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2,436 | 7.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,307 | 18.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,200 | 3.2 mi |
Top 9 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 Cosby. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Cosby.
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.