In 2025, fire departments serving Crofton responded to 20 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 90% of all calls.
May peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
63 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $811K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 8 | — | |
| 2022 | 15 | +87.5% | |
| 2023 | 12 | -20.0% | |
| 2024 | 8 | -33.3% | |
| 2025 | 20 | +150.0% |
For the 10 building fires Crofton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 24 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 | 5 | 20.8% | |
| 2 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Structural area, other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 8.3% |
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 Crofton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 4.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Crofton departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $500 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Crofton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 12,487 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 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,300 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,050 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 1,024 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 570 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 517 | 7.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 23.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 19.9 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42217 | 63 |
Six Kentucky cities with population within ±25% of Crofton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Crofton.
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.