In 2025, fire departments serving Milan responded to 72 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $336K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 44% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
480 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.6M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 74 | — | |
| 2022 | 106 | +43.2% | |
| 2023 | 119 | +12.3% | |
| 2024 | 109 | -8.4% | |
| 2025 | 72 | -33.9% |
For the 12 building fires Milan departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 321 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 | Outside area, other | 56 | 17.4% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 47 | 14.6% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 45 | 14.0% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 25 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 17 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 16 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Other | 14 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 10 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 9 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 9 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 73 | 22.7% |
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 Milan mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 141 | 43.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 26 | 8.1% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 22 | 6.9% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 22 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 18 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Match | 15 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 11 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 37 | 11.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Milan departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $336,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $144,100 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $80,000 | Building or structure weakened or collapsed | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $33,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Milan sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,217 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 30.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 330 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 316 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Smoking | 311 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 235 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 200 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 180 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 175 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 168 | 27.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 147 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 143 | 19.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 140 | 24.7 mi |
Top 7 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 Milan. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Milan.
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.