In 2025, fire departments serving Gainesboro responded to 69 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 72% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
400 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $4.3M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48 | — | |
| 2022 | 85 | +77.1% | |
| 2023 | 96 | +12.9% | |
| 2024 | 102 | +6.2% | |
| 2025 | 69 | -32.4% |
For the 24 building fires Gainesboro departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 132 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 | 27 | 20.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 26 | 19.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 18 | 13.6% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 29 | 22.0% |
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 Gainesboro mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 66 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 15 | 11.4% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 8 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 7.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Gainesboro departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 86% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $28,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Gainesboro sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 26,957 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,646 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,398 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,925 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,214 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,000 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 960 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 940 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 845 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 800 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 787 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 716 | 46.7 mi |
Top 4 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 Gainesboro. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Gainesboro.
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.