In 2025, fire departments serving Midway responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 57% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
154 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22 | — | |
| 2022 | 33 | +50.0% | |
| 2023 | 36 | +9.1% | |
| 2024 | 35 | -2.8% | |
| 2025 | 28 | -20.0% |
For the 3 building fires Midway departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 35 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 | 13 | 37.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 25.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 5.7% |
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 Midway mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 29 | 82.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 5 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 2.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Midway departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $33,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Midway sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,266 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Recreation and ceremony | 516 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 354 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 225 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Recreation and ceremony | 220 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | 149 | 48.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 120 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 110 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 97 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 95 | 43.7 mi |
Top 3 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 Midway. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Midway.
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.