In 2025, fire departments serving Newport responded to 198 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K 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 51% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,114 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $10.4M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 193 | — | |
| 2022 | 215 | +11.4% | |
| 2023 | 286 | +33.0% | |
| 2024 | 222 | -22.4% | |
| 2025 | 198 | -10.8% |
For the 35 building fires Newport departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 349 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 | 103 | 29.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 49 | 14.0% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 30 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 18 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Other | 17 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 13 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 12 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 9 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 9 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 8 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 81 | 23.2% |
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 Newport mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 213 | 61.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 26 | 7.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 23 | 6.6% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 13 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 12 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Match | 9 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 7 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 4 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 25 | 7.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Newport departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 69% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $165,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $150,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $110,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $100,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Newport sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 63,255 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 17,140 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,580 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,964 | 22.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,943 | 19.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2,436 | 6.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,307 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,200 | 11.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,185 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 2,115 | 16.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 2,000 | 7.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,492 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 1,441 | 45.7 mi |
Top 10 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 Newport. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Newport.
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.