In 2025, fire departments serving Mason responded to 42 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $21K 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 64% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
263 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48 | — | |
| 2022 | 40 | -16.7% | |
| 2023 | 68 | +70.0% | |
| 2024 | 65 | -4.4% | |
| 2025 | 42 | -35.4% |
For the 11 building fires Mason departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 124 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 | 39 | 31.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 13 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 7.3% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 8 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 6 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 14.5% |
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 Mason mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 50 | 40.3% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 7 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 5 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 17 | 13.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Mason departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $21,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $6,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mason sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,789 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,130 | 46.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,007 | 36.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 770 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 529 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 500 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 44.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 475 | 45.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 459 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 43.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 375 | 34.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 338 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 316 | 29.6 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 Tennessee cities with population within ±25% of Mason. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Mason.
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.