In 2025, fire departments serving Franklin responded to 107 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500 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 56% of all calls.
Apr peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
531 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $51K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 95 | — | |
| 2022 | 117 | +23.2% | |
| 2023 | 104 | -11.1% | |
| 2024 | 108 | +3.8% | |
| 2025 | 107 | -0.9% |
For the 8 building fires Franklin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 249 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 | 81 | 32.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 52 | 20.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 41 | 16.5% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 12 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 2.0% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 1.6% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 1.6% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 4 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 38 | 15.3% |
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 Franklin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 148 | 59.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 20 | 8.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 4.8% | |
| 4 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 11 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 8 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 8 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 5 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 5 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 4 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 19 | 7.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Franklin departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500 | Cultivated vegetation, crop fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Franklin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,525 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,400 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,050 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 584 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 570 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 46.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 400 | 40.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 265 | 49.0 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 Kentucky cities with population within ±25% of Franklin. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Franklin.
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.