In 2025, fire departments serving Jasper responded to 40 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 68% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
278 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55 | — | |
| 2022 | 78 | +41.8% | |
| 2023 | 55 | -29.5% | |
| 2024 | 50 | -9.1% | |
| 2025 | 40 | -20.0% |
For the 8 building fires Jasper departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 144 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 | 82 | 56.9% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 10.4% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 7.6% | |
| 4 | Other | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 5.6% |
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 Jasper mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 107 | 74.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 5.6% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 0.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 0.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 4.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Jasper departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Jasper sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 36,599 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2,836 | 25.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,480 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,083 | 21.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,080 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,035 | 17.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,018 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,747 | 18.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,560 | 16.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 1,448 | 43.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,281 | 38.0 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 Tennessee cities with population within ±25% of Jasper. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Jasper.
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.