In 2025, fire departments serving Petersburg responded to 22 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 77% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
124 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $988K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20 | — | |
| 2022 | 26 | +30.0% | |
| 2023 | 25 | -3.8% | |
| 2024 | 31 | +24.0% | |
| 2025 | 22 | -29.0% |
For the 6 building fires Petersburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 68 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 | 23 | 33.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 11 | 16.2% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 9 | 13.2% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 7.4% |
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 Petersburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 44 | 64.7% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 5 | 7.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 4 | Radiated heat from another fire | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Fireworks | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 7.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Petersburg departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $43,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $18,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $11,900 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $8,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $6,000 | Authorized controlled burning | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Petersburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 7,393 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 833 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 748 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 735 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 510 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 332 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 328 | 41.3 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 260 | 48.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 250 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 38.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 235 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 235 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 220 | 49.9 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 Petersburg. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Petersburg.
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.