In 2025, fire departments serving Ringgold responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 60% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
161 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $595K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 31 | — | |
| 2022 | 29 | -6.5% | |
| 2023 | 38 | +31.0% | |
| 2024 | 38 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 25 | -34.2% |
For the 1 building fires Ringgold departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 62 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 | 10 | 16.1% | |
| 2 | Other | 6 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Undetermined | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 25.8% |
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 Ringgold mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 27.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 10 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 11.3% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Fireworks | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Match | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 16.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ringgold departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ringgold sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 17,530 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,969 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,254 | 21.3 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,075 | 44.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 906 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 902 | 34.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 800 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 745 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 669 | 8.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 617 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 557 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 429 | 44.7 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 71068 | 161 |
Six Louisiana cities with population within ±25% of Ringgold. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ringgold.
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.