In 2025, fire departments serving Orlinda responded to 20 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 80% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
110 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $226K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 17 | -19.0% | |
| 2023 | 24 | +41.2% | |
| 2024 | 28 | +16.7% | |
| 2025 | 20 | -28.6% |
For the 0 building fires Orlinda departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 20 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 | 5 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Other | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 1 | 5.0% |
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 Orlinda mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Sunlight | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 1 | 5.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Orlinda departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,200 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Orlinda sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,215 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 49.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 230 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 225 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 147 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 145 | 48.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 125 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 125 | 44.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Smoking | 120 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 101 | 47.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 12.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 44.5 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 Orlinda. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Orlinda.
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.