In 2025, fire departments serving Pikeville responded to 247 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Aircraft standby lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Sep peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
831 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $10K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 147 | — | |
| 2022 | 163 | +10.9% | |
| 2023 | 147 | -9.8% | |
| 2024 | 127 | -13.6% | |
| 2025 | 247 | +94.5% |
For the 5 building fires Pikeville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 155 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 | 115 | 74.2% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 3.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 6 | 3.9% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 6 | Other | 2 | 1.3% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 1.3% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 1.3% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 7.1% |
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 Pikeville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 135 | 87.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 4 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.3% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 1.3% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 0.6% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 0.6% | |
| 9 | Candle | 1 | 0.6% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 1 | 0.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pikeville departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pikeville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 90,890 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 10,000 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,500 | 23.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,832 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,850 | 43.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Fireworks | 4,552 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,070 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,500 | 29.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,475 | 24.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,300 | 50.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,200 | 12.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Fireworks | 3,186 | 46.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,100 | 13.2 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Kentucky cities with population within ±25% of Pikeville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Pikeville.
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.