In 2025, fire departments serving Cross Plains responded to 40 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
190 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $369K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46 | — | |
| 2022 | 49 | +6.5% | |
| 2023 | 41 | -16.3% | |
| 2024* | 14 | — | |
| 2025 | 40 | — |
* Well below Cross Plains'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 1 building fires Cross Plains departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 30 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 | 6 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 5 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 20.0% |
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 Cross Plains mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 26.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 7 | 23.3% | |
| 3 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Match | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cross Plains departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $12,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cross Plains sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,713 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 230 | 24.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 225 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 180 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 170 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 125 | 48.3 mi | |
| 1998 | Smoking | 120 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 118 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 112 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 101 | 45.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 8.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 95 | 49.3 mi |
Top 5 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 Cross Plains. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Cross Plains.
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.