In 2025, fire departments serving Ripley responded to 142 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $210K 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 66% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
636 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.9M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 100 | — | |
| 2022 | 107 | +7.0% | |
| 2023 | 133 | +24.3% | |
| 2024 | 154 | +15.8% | |
| 2025 | 142 | -7.8% |
For the 32 building fires Ripley departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 342 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 | 95 | 27.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 43 | 12.6% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 30 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 25 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 22 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Other | 20 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 12 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 10 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 7 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 6 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 72 | 21.1% |
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 Ripley mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 201 | 58.8% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 37 | 10.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 16 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 16 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 11 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 7 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 6 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 32 | 9.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ripley departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 69% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $209,900 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $105,900 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $60,200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $48,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $41,200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ripley sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,233 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 316 | 6.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 182 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 175 | 21.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 168 | 25.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 148 | 14.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 139 | 13.3 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 135 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 123 | 40.1 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 122 | 4.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 112 | 42.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 104 | 34.7 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 Ripley. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ripley.
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.