In 2025, fire departments serving Louisville responded to 162 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $450K 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 66% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
736 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 141 | — | |
| 2022 | 121 | -14.2% | |
| 2023 | 156 | +28.9% | |
| 2024 | 156 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 162 | +3.8% |
For the 29 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 172 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 33 | 19.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 33 | 19.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 11 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 10 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 3 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 38 | 22.1% |
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 Louisville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 60 | 34.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 18 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 15 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 13 | 7.6% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 25 | 14.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Louisville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $450,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $334,600 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Louisville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,018 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 17.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 16.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 18.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 31 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 3.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 42.1 mi |
Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Louisville. 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.