In 2025, fire departments serving Dunlap responded to 108 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Forest, woods or wildland fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
359 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.4M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 75 | — | |
| 2022 | 57 | -24.0% | |
| 2023 | 66 | +15.8% | |
| 2024 | 53 | -19.7% | |
| 2025 | 108 | +103.8% |
For the 19 building fires Dunlap departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 189 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 | 131 | 69.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 9 | 4.8% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 8 | 4.2% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 6 | Other | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 6.9% |
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 Dunlap mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 169 | 89.4% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 3.2% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 5 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 1.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 0.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 0.5% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 0.5% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 0.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Dunlap departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 88% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $121,700 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $66,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dunlap sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 38,181 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,450 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2,836 | 45.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,480 | 15.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,083 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,080 | 7.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,035 | 7.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,018 | 18.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,747 | 6.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,600 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,560 | 14.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,281 | 43.7 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 Dunlap. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Dunlap.
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.