In 2025, fire departments serving Memphis responded to 21 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K 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 76% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
77 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $363K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | — | |
| 2022 | 10 | -9.1% | |
| 2023 | 13 | +30.0% | |
| 2024 | 22 | +69.2% | |
| 2025 | 21 | -4.5% |
For the 3 building fires Memphis departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 9 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 | 3 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 6 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 11.1% |
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 Memphis mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 4 | 44.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Lightning | 1 | 11.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Memphis departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Memphis sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 23 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 770 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 116 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 64 | 27.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 6.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 23.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Fireworks | 40 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 37 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 33 | 15.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 30 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 30 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 30 | 24.6 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Memphis. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Memphis.
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.