In 2025, fire departments serving Murfreesboro responded to 20 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $4.0M 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 75% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
104 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $5.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | — | |
| 2022 | 26 | +73.3% | |
| 2023 | 19 | -26.9% | |
| 2024 | 24 | +26.3% | |
| 2025 | 20 | -16.7% |
For the 4 building fires Murfreesboro departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 51 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 16 | 31.4% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 15.7% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Office | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 11.8% |
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 Murfreesboro mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 45.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 8 | 15.7% | |
| 3 | Lightning | 5 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Murfreesboro departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $4,000 | Commercial Compactor fire, confined to rubbish | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Murfreesboro sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 30,185 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Natural | 8,294 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 3,739 | 21.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,067 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,550 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 1,535 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 960 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 933 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 905 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 900 | 11.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 873 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 852 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 705 | 29.2 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 71958 | 104 |
Six Arkansas cities with population within ±25% of Murfreesboro. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Murfreesboro.
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.