In 2025, fire departments serving Loretto responded to 36 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 83% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
150 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $145K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 45 | +114.3% | |
| 2023 | 28 | -37.8% | |
| 2024 | 20 | -28.6% | |
| 2025 | 36 | +80.0% |
For the 7 building fires Loretto departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 81 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 | 46 | 56.8% | |
| 2 | Other | 17 | 21.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 5 | Wall assembly | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 2.5% |
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 Loretto mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 61 | 75.3% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Loretto departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,160 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Loretto sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,428 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 238 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 215 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 215 | 26.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 201 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 170 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 49.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 155 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 144 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 142 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 132 | 33.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 125 | 20.6 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 Loretto. 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.