In 2025, fire departments serving Dover responded to 106 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $229K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Aircraft standby lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 91% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
455 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $5.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 71 | — | |
| 2022 | 91 | +28.2% | |
| 2023 | 84 | -7.7% | |
| 2024 | 103 | +22.6% | |
| 2025 | 106 | +2.9% |
For the 15 building fires Dover departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 154 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 | 54 | 35.1% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 41 | 26.6% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 9 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Other | 6 | 3.9% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Roof surface: exterior | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 13.0% |
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 Dover mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 78 | 50.6% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 18 | 11.7% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 14 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 3.9% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Match | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 7.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Dover departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $228,600 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $191,900 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dover sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 7,186 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,300 | 18.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 1,024 | 12.5 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 331 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 330 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Smoking | 311 | 22.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 17.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 271 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 250 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 240 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 234 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 225 | 44.2 mi |
Top 3 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 Dover. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Dover.
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.