In 2025, fire departments serving Mayfield responded to 106 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 54% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
515 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $3.3M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 102 | — | |
| 2022 | 145 | +42.2% | |
| 2023 | 84 | -42.1% | |
| 2024 | 78 | -7.1% | |
| 2025 | 106 | +35.9% |
For the 9 building fires Mayfield departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 161 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 | 35 | 21.7% | |
| 2 | Other | 15 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 14 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 14 | 8.7% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 40 | 24.8% |
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 Mayfield mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 88 | 54.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 6.8% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 7 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 7 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 8.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Mayfield departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $200,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mayfield sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,692 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,300 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 1,024 | 36.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 500 | 13.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Smoking | 311 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 271 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 250 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 234 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 227 | 5.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 221 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 28.5 mi |
Top 4 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 Mayfield. 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.