In 2025, fire departments serving Leitchfield responded to 77 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
482 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 56 | — | |
| 2022 | 101 | — | |
| 2023 | 124 | +22.8% | |
| 2024 | 124 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 77 | -37.9% |
* Well below Leitchfield's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 8 building fires Leitchfield departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 111 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 43 | 38.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 20 | 18.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 7.2% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 6 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Structural area, other | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 15.3% |
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 Leitchfield mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 70 | 63.1% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 5.4% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 7.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Leitchfield departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $28,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Leitchfield sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,768 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,400 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,050 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 584 | 11.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 570 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 36.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 400 | 15.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 38.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 35.2 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 Kentucky cities with population within ±25% of Leitchfield. 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.