In 2025, fire departments serving Humboldt responded to 72 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $70K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 49% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
501 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.0M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 99 | — | |
| 2022 | 111 | +12.1% | |
| 2023 | 117 | +5.4% | |
| 2024 | 102 | -12.8% | |
| 2025 | 72 | -29.4% |
For the 7 building fires Humboldt departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 251 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 | 33 | 13.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 29 | 11.6% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 26 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 23 | 9.2% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 20 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 19 | 7.6% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 11 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Other | 10 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 9 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 8 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 63 | 25.1% |
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 Humboldt mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 108 | 43.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 27 | 10.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 20 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 10 | 4.0% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Match | 10 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 35 | 13.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Humboldt departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 87% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $70,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $53,400 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $12,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Humboldt sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,763 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 316 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 235 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 182 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 175 | 18.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 168 | 21.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 148 | 46.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 147 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 143 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 140 | 34.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 139 | 45.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 135 | 47.8 mi |
Top 10 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 Humboldt. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Humboldt.
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.