In 2025, fire departments serving Lakesite responded to 26 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 100% of all calls.
May peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
118 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $100K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | — | |
| 2022 | 29 | +20.8% | |
| 2023 | 17 | -41.4% | |
| 2024 | 22 | +29.4% | |
| 2025 | 26 | +18.2% |
For the 4 building fires Lakesite departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 18 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 | Other | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Structural area, other | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 16.7% |
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 Lakesite mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 33.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 5.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lakesite departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lakesite sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 65,246 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Natural | 27,870 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,450 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2,836 | 39.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,480 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,083 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,080 | 25.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,035 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,018 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,747 | 19.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,600 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,560 | 28.9 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 Lakesite. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.