In 2025, fire departments serving Independence responded to 104 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $35K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 44% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
485 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 135 | — | |
| 2022 | 68 | -49.6% | |
| 2023 | 121 | +77.9% | |
| 2024* | 57 | — | |
| 2025 | 104 | — |
* Well below Independence's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 6 building fires Independence departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 89 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 19.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 16 | 18.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 15.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 25.8% |
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 Independence mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 35 | 39.3% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 11.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 10.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 6 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 11.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Independence departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $35,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $6,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Independence sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,852 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 870 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 450 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 354 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 220 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 182 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 125 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 74 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 47.1 mi |
Top 7 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 Independence. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Independence.
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.