In 2025, fire departments serving Lebanon responded to 74 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $180K 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 59% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
409 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 73 | — | |
| 2022 | 71 | -2.7% | |
| 2023 | 111 | +56.3% | |
| 2024 | 80 | -27.9% | |
| 2025 | 74 | -7.5% |
For the 12 building fires Lebanon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 239 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 | 39 | 16.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 38 | 15.9% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 34 | 14.2% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 21 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 18 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 10 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Other | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 4 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 60 | 25.1% |
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 Lebanon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 113 | 47.3% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 27 | 11.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 21 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 19 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 11 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 7 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 3 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 6.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lebanon departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 94% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $180,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $8,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lebanon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,033 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 845 | 46.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 278 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 238 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 215 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 215 | 32.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 205 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 205 | 44.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 201 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 181 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 170 | 49.2 mi |
Top 3 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 Lebanon. 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.