In 2025, fire departments serving Gatlinburg responded to 112 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $230K 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 49% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
649 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.5M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 95 | — | |
| 2022 | 174 | +83.2% | |
| 2023 | 152 | -12.6% | |
| 2024 | 116 | -23.7% | |
| 2025 | 112 | -3.4% |
For the 8 building fires Gatlinburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 201 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 | 41 | 20.4% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 28 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 21 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Other | 19 | 9.5% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 38 | 18.9% |
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 Gatlinburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 102 | 50.7% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 27 | 13.4% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 11 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 10 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 3.5% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 15 | 7.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Gatlinburg departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $230,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,400 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $80,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $62,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $50,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Gatlinburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 95,444 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 17,140 | 6.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 10,641 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 9,036 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,788 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,580 | 15.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,964 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,422 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,231 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,200 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,943 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2,436 | 21.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,307 | 18.0 mi |
Top 6 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 Gatlinburg. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Gatlinburg.
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.