In 2025, fire departments serving Oliver Springs responded to 73 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $40K 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 60% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
437 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.1M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 86 | — | |
| 2022 | 85 | -1.2% | |
| 2023 | 95 | +11.8% | |
| 2024 | 98 | +3.2% | |
| 2025 | 73 | -25.5% |
For the 18 building fires Oliver Springs departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 169 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 | 37 | 21.9% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 32 | 18.9% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Other | 6 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 38 | 22.5% |
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 Oliver Springs mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 88 | 52.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 11 | 6.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 11 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Match | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 21 | 12.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Oliver Springs departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Oliver Springs sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
5 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 2 | |
| 20-29 | 1 | |
| 30-39 | 0 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 2 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 76,825 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,586 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 8,134 | 17.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,700 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,646 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,040 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,675 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,450 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,398 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,200 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,944 | 4.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,925 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,784 | 20.3 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 Oliver Springs. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Oliver Springs.
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.