In 2025, fire departments serving Jefferson City responded to 131 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2.5M 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 66% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
621 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $9.5M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 127 | — | |
| 2022 | 148 | +16.5% | |
| 2023 | 118 | -20.3% | |
| 2024 | 97 | -17.8% | |
| 2025 | 131 | +35.1% |
For the 42 building fires Jefferson City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 190 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 | 50 | 26.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 18 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 15 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 14 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Other | 11 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 5.8% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 35 | 18.4% |
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 Jefferson City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 92 | 48.4% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 17 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 14 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 13 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 12 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 8 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Match | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 8.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Jefferson City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $175,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $29,390 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Jefferson City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 101,444 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 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,586 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 8,134 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,580 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,964 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,700 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,040 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,860 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,675 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,200 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,944 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,943 | 38.0 mi |
Top 5 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 Jefferson City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Jefferson City.
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.