In 2025, fire departments serving Mount Carmel responded to 61 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $45K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 59% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
226 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $816K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 39 | — | |
| 2022 | 39 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 38 | -2.6% | |
| 2024 | 49 | +28.9% | |
| 2025 | 61 | +24.5% |
For the 2 building fires Mount Carmel departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 39 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 | 9 | 23.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Closet | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 12.8% |
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 Mount Carmel mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 8 | 20.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 5.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Mount Carmel departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $45,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $500 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mount Carmel sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 66,592 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 7,400 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,964 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,860 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,539 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,300 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,040 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,943 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,765 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 2,738 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,402 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,252 | 44.3 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 Tennessee cities with population within ±25% of Mount Carmel. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Mount Carmel.
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.