In 2025, fire departments serving Monteagle responded to 11 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $160K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. Monteagle's departments reported 11 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 44 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 100% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
222 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $6.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 74 | — | |
| 2022 | 54 | -27.0% | |
| 2023 | 54 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 29 | -46.3% | |
| 2025* | 11 | — |
* Well below Monteagle's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 4 building fires Monteagle departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 73 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 22 | 30.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 22 | 30.1% | |
| 3 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 15.1% |
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 Monteagle mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 44 | 60.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 11.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 5 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Radiated heat from another fire | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 2.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Monteagle departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $160,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $70,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Gasoline or other flammable liquid spill | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Monteagle sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 34,232 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2,836 | 41.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,480 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,083 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,080 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,035 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,018 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,747 | 22.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,560 | 13.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,167 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,120 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1,100 | 27.6 mi |
Top 4 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 Monteagle. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Monteagle.
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.