In 2025, fire departments serving Dandridge responded to 143 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $285K 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 67% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
930 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $4.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 159 | — | |
| 2022 | 224 | +40.9% | |
| 2023 | 167 | -25.4% | |
| 2024 | 237 | +41.9% | |
| 2025 | 143 | -39.7% |
For the 55 building fires Dandridge departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 365 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 | 129 | 35.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 43 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 32 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 25 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Other | 18 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 18 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 17 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 11 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 6 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Multiple areas | 6 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 60 | 16.4% |
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 Dandridge mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 201 | 55.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 18 | 4.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 17 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 16 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 15 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 13 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 13 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 10 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Match | 7 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 47 | 12.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Dandridge departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $285,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,100 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dandridge sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 74,229 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 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,580 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,964 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,040 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,860 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,200 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,943 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2,436 | 18.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,307 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,200 | 20.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,185 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 2,115 | 29.1 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 Dandridge. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Dandridge.
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.