In 2025, fire departments serving Fort Mitchell responded to 41 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $95K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Passenger vehicle fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 68% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
123 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $230K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 0 | — | |
| 2022 | 18 | — | |
| 2023* | 0 | — | |
| 2024 | 64 | — | |
| 2025 | 41 | -35.9% |
* Well below Fort Mitchell'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 4 building fires Fort Mitchell departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 47 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 | 15 | 31.9% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 9 | 19.1% | |
| 3 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Office | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 14.9% |
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 Fort Mitchell mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 53.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 8.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 12.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Fort Mitchell departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $95,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $18,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fort Mitchell sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,512 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 870 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 450 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 220 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 182 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 125 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 74 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 65 | 46.7 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Kentucky cities with population within ±25% of Fort Mitchell. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Fort Mitchell.
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.