In 2025, fire departments serving Mountain City responded to 73 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 74% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
361 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.0M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 66 | — | |
| 2022 | 70 | +6.1% | |
| 2023 | 67 | -4.3% | |
| 2024 | 85 | +26.9% | |
| 2025 | 73 | -14.1% |
For the 21 building fires Mountain City 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 | Undetermined | 35 | 47.9% | |
| 2 | Other | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Multiple areas | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 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 Mountain City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 58 | 79.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 6 | Incendiary device | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 1 | 1.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Mountain City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 94% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $87,400 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $87,400 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $73,800 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mountain City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 50,123 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,120 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 5,500 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 5,015 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 2,738 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,579 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 2,404 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,050 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Other causes | 2,005 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1,760 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,727 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Smoking | 1,509 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,500 | 34.0 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 Mountain City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Mountain City.
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.