In 2025, fire departments serving Louisville responded to 22 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $600K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Oil or other combustible liquid spill lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 59% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
117 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 23 | — | |
| 2022 | 19 | -17.4% | |
| 2023 | 25 | +31.6% | |
| 2024 | 28 | +12.0% | |
| 2025 | 22 | -21.4% |
For the 3 building fires Louisville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 55 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 | 14 | 25.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 11 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Multiple areas | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 5 | Function area, other | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 18.2% |
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 Louisville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 20 | 36.4% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 14.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Conducted heat from another fire | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 5.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Louisville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $600,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $285,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $250,000 | Oil or other combustible liquid spill | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Oil or other combustible liquid spill | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Oil or other combustible liquid spill | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Louisville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 23 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 808 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Smoking | 20 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 47.5 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 Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Louisville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Louisville.
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.