In 2025, fire departments serving McDonald responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
149 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 30 | — | |
| 2022 | 30 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 37 | +23.3% | |
| 2024 | 34 | -8.1% | |
| 2025 | 18 | -47.1% |
For the 0 building fires McDonald departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 91 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 | 36 | 39.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 11 | 12.1% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 9.9% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 3.3% |
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 McDonald mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 54 | 59.3% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 5.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 12.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by McDonald departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. McDonald sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 62,852 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Natural | 27,870 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2,836 | 39.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,480 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,083 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,080 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,035 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,018 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,747 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,600 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,560 | 39.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,281 | 21.0 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 McDonald. 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.