In 2025, fire departments serving Fulton responded to 46 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $125K 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 48% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
249 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $811K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53 | — | |
| 2022 | 44 | -17.0% | |
| 2023 | 41 | -6.8% | |
| 2024 | 65 | +58.5% | |
| 2025 | 46 | -29.2% |
For the 8 building fires Fulton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 102 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 | 22 | 21.6% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 17 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 14.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 6 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Exterior, exposed surface | 5 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 5 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 14.7% |
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 Fulton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 58 | 56.9% | |
| 2 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 13 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 7 | 6.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 3.9% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Arcing | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 5.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Fulton departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $125,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fulton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,741 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 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 1,024 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 569 | 46.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 500 | 9.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Smoking | 311 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 227 | 18.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 221 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 168 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 143 | 27.3 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 Fulton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Fulton.
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.