In 2025, fire departments serving Kenton responded to 32 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 63% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
133 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $304K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | — | |
| 2022 | 31 | +29.2% | |
| 2023 | 20 | -35.5% | |
| 2024 | 26 | +30.0% | |
| 2025 | 32 | +23.1% |
For the 7 building fires Kenton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 52 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 19.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 17.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 21.2% |
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 Kenton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 30.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Match | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 8 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 13.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Kenton departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Kenton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,081 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 500 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 20.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 316 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Smoking | 311 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 227 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 175 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 168 | 18.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 147 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 143 | 21.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 140 | 31.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 139 | 46.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 132 | 31.7 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 Kenton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Kenton.
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.