In 2025, fire departments serving Robards responded to 36 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K 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 55% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
149 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22 | — | |
| 2022 | 28 | +27.3% | |
| 2023 | 39 | +39.3% | |
| 2024 | 24 | -38.5% | |
| 2025 | 36 | +50.0% |
For the 3 building fires Robards departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 39 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 28.2% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Entrance way, lobby | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 15.4% |
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 Robards mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 59.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Candle | 1 | 2.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Robards departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Robards sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,219 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,400 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,050 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 716 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 570 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 517 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 418 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 356 | 42.2 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 | 42452 | 149 |
Six Kentucky cities with population within ±25% of Robards. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.