In 2025, fire departments serving Melbourne responded to 13 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 77% of all calls.
Feb peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
77 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $354K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 10 | — | |
| 2022 | 18 | +80.0% | |
| 2023 | 17 | -5.6% | |
| 2024 | 19 | +11.8% | |
| 2025 | 13 | -31.6% |
For the 0 building fires Melbourne departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 16 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 | 4 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Escalator - exterior, interior | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 10 | Outside area, other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 6.2% |
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 Melbourne mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 18.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 6.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Melbourne departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Melbourne sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 878 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 125 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 57 | 13.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 10.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 45 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 45 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 26.6 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 41059 | 77 |
Six Kentucky cities with population within ±25% of Melbourne. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Melbourne.
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.